The parathyroid hormone-2 receptor is a member of the secretin family of guanine nucleotide-binding protein-coupled receptors. The human parathyroid hormone-2 receptor is activated by parathyroid hormone and a recently purified hypothalamic polypeptide, tubero-infundibular peptide of 39 residues, while the rat parathyroid hormone-2 receptor is poorly activated by parathyroid hormone and is potently activated by tubero-infundibular peptide of 39 residues. In order to provide a foundation for studies on the physiological role of the parathyroid hormone-2 receptor and tubero-infundibular peptide of 39 residues, we investigated the cellular distribution of the parathyroid hormone-2 receptor in the rat CNS using both immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization histochemistry. The receptor is found in discrete groups of neurons in many regions. It is present in scattered small cells throughout the cerebral cortex, in small and medium-sized cells in the striatum, and is quite abundant in the septum and the midline thalamic nuclei. Its expression is high in the hypothalamus, particularly in the periventricular and arcuate nuclei. Fibers and terminals in the external zone of the median eminence, and in the superficial layers of the caudal spinal trigeminal tract and the spinal cord dorsal horn, are strongly and dramatically labeled by a parathyroid hormone-2 receptor-selective antibody. The localization of parathyroid hormone-2 receptor suggests a role in the regulation of pituitary hormone secretion, sensory information processing and homeostatic regulation.