A series of 1,3-diazacycloalkyl carboxaldehyde oxime derivatives was synthesized and tested for muscarinic activity in receptor binding assays using [3H]-oxotremorine-M (OXO-M) and [3H]-pirenzepine (PZ) as ligands. Potential muscarinic agonistic or antagonistic properties of the compounds were determined using binding studies measuring their potencies to inhibit the binding of OXO-M and PZ. Preferential inhibition of OXO-M binding was used as an indicator for potential muscarinic agonistic properties; this potential was confirmed in functional studies on isolated organs.