With the growing concern for the health hazards of occupational exposure to toxic substances attention has been focused on the organic solvents, which are associated with both deleterious nervous system effects and specific tissue injuries. Relatively little is known about the distribution of organic solvents and their metabolites in the living organism. Knowledge of the specific tissue localizations and retention of solvents and solvent metabolites is of great value in revealing and understanding the sites and mechanisms of organic solvent toxicity. Whole-body autoradiography has been modified and applied to distribution studies of benzene, toluene, m-xylene, styrene, methylene chloride, chloroform, carbon tetrachloride, trichloroethylene and carbon disulfide. The high volatility of these substances has led to the development of cryo-techniques. Whole-body autoradiographic techniques applicable to the study of volatile substances are reviewed. The localizations of nonvolatile solvent metabolites and firmly bound metabolites have also been examined. The obtained results are discussed in relation to toxic effects and evaluated by comparison with other techniques used in distribution studies of organic solvents and their metabolites.