Studies were done to ascertain whether dietary magnesium, manganese and boron affect the response of the rat to high dietary aluminum. Four factorially arranged experiments of 7 weeks duration were performed with weanling Sprague-Dawley male rats. The variables were the following supplements (microgram/g fresh diet): boron as boric acid, 0 and 3; aluminum as aluminum chloride, 0 and 1,000; and magnesium as magnesium acetate, 100 and 400 (experiments 1 and 4) or 100, 200 and 400 (experiments 2 and 3). In experiments 1 and 2, the diet was supplemented with 20 micrograms manganese/g as manganese acetate, in experiments 3 and 4 the supplement was 50 micrograms/g. High dietary aluminum seemed most toxic when dietary magnesium was low enough to cause a marked growth depression (100 micrograms/g). High dietary aluminum elevated the spleen weight/body weight and liver weight/body weight ratios in magnesium-deficient, but not in magnesium-adequate rats. High dietary aluminum depressed the concentrations of magnesium in bone more markedly in magnesium-deficient than adequate rats. On the other hand, aluminum seemed most toxic when dietary boron was not low. Aluminum more markedly depressed growth in boron-supplemented than boron-deprived rats. In the boron-deprived rats fed 400 micrograms magnesium/g of diet, high dietary aluminum (1,000 micrograms/g) apparently was beneficial, in experiments 2 and 3, hematocrit, and hemoglobin were actually normalized by high dietary aluminum. Plasma magnesium was significantly depressed by high dietary aluminum when the manganese supplement was 50 micrograms/g diet but not when it was 20 micrograms/g diet. On the other hand, growth was more markedly depressed by high dietary aluminum in boron-supplemented rats when the manganese supplement was 20 rather than 50 micrograms/g diet. The findings indicate that the response of rats to high dietary aluminum is influenced by magnesium, boron, and manganese nutriture.