The behavioral effects of several benzodiazepine (BZ) (omega) receptor ligands were compared using the Mouse Defense Test Battery which has been designed to assess defensive reactions of Swiss mice confronted with a natural threat (a rat) and situations associated with this threat. Primary measures taken before, during and after rat confrontation were escape attempts, flight, risk assessment and defensive threat and attack. The drugs used included non-selective BZ (omega) full (clonazepam, clorazepate, chlordiazepoxide and diazepam) and partial (bretazenil and imidazenil) agonists, and BZ-1 (omega1) selective (abecarnil, CL 218,872 and zolpidem) receptor ligands. With the exception of clonazepam, non-selective BZ (omega) receptor compounds only partially affected flight behaviors. The drugs reduced some but not all flight measures in response to the approaching rat, whereas clonazepam attenuated all flight reactions. In contrast to their mild and inconsistent actions on flight, the non-selective BZ (omega) receptor agonists displayed clear effects on risk assessment when subjects were chased by the rat. When contact was forced between the subject and the rat, the non-selective BZ (omega) receptor full agonists reduced defensive threat and attack reactions, while the partial agonists imidazenil and bretazenil only weakly attenuated defensive attack behavior. Similarly, after the rat had been removed from the test area, the non-selective BZ (omega) receptor full agonists displayed greater efficacy than the partial agonists in reducing escape attempts. Overall, results obtained with the selective BZ-1 (omega1) receptor ligands demonstrated either no clear effects or no specific action on defensive reactions. Taken together, these data demonstrate that: (1) non-selective BZ (omega) agonists displaying high intrinsic activity affect a wider range of defensive behaviors than non-selective BZ (omega) receptor partial agonists; (2) the defense system does not involve primarily BZ (omega) receptors containing the alpha1-subunit.