Morphological changes and local leukocyte response to prolonged Corynebacterium bovis colonization were studied in lactating bovine mammary glands. Morphometric analysis of parenchymal tissue demonstrated no adverse effects of colonization on the synthetic and secretory activity of mammary epithelium. Numbers of macrophages, lymphocytes, and plasma cells were higher in tissue from C. bovis-colonized quarters. However, there were no differences in numbers of neutrophils between colonized and uninfected quarters. Results suggest persistent C. bovis colonization may elicit effector cell populations in lactating mammary tissue where leukocyte concentrations tend to be lower.