The effect of repeated once daily administration of 20 mg omeprazole orally and 10 mg and 40 mg intravenously on 24-h intragastric acidity was studied in nine healthy subjects. On day 1, 20 mg orally and 10 mg intravenously reduced integrated intragastric acidity by 18% and 15%, respectively (NS). On day 5 the reduction had increased to 60% and 53%, respectively (p < 0.05). The first dose of 40 mg intravenously produced a reduction of 71% (p < 0.05) with no further increase during continued administration. An increase in plasma omeprazole concentrations by 56% (p < 0.05) was seen during repeated dosing with 40 mg intravenously, while no significant change occurred with the two other doses. Thus once daily administration of 10 mg omeprazole intravenously produced an effect on 24-h intragastric acidity comparable to that of once daily administration of 20 mg omeprazole orally. However, for both these dosage regimens it took a few days before their maximal effect was obtained. Parenteral administration of 40 mg omeprazole produced, already on the first day of treatment, an effect similar to that seen after 5 days of oral administration of 20 mg omeprazole or intravenous administration of 10 mg and can therefore overcome this initial delay in drug action. The reduction of 24-h intragastric acidity seen in the present study appeared to be lower than that seen in a similar study in duodenal ulcer patients, a finding not explained by differences in age or pharmacokinetics.