Much of the definitive work on G-protein-coupled receptor phosphorylation and its impact on receptor function has been performed with the catecholamine receptors. Evidence for receptor phosphorylation is lacking, however, for G-protein-coupled receptors that bind larger ligands, such as LH/CG. Using immunoprecipitation techniques and a clonal cell line stably transfected with the LH/CG receptor, we show here for the first time that exposure of cells to hCG induces phosphorylation of its cognate receptor. The hCG-induced increase in receptor phosphorylation requires receptor activation because it cannot be elicited with a hCG antagonist and is mediated at least in part by the cAMP second messenger system. This hypothesis is supported by the finding that the hCG-induced receptor phosphorylation is greatly reduced (but not abolished) in a cell line that overexpresses cAMP phosphodiesterase and that receptor phosphorylation can be induced by activation of endogenous cAMP synthesis with prostaglandin E2 or by addition of 8-bromo-cAMP. Last, we show that LH/CG receptor phosphorylation can be induced with a phorbol ester, but not with a calcium ionophore. We also examined a potential correlation between LH/CG receptor phosphorylation and uncoupling of the receptor from its effector. Although the phorbol ester-induced phosphorylation of the LH/CG receptor can be correlated with uncoupling, other experiments indicate that hCG-induced uncoupling of the LH/CG receptor can occur under conditions where the cAMP-mediated receptor phosphorylation is greatly reduced (or abolished).