The fluorescent dye 6-methoxy-8-p-toluene sulfonamide quinoline (TSQ) was used to monitor the distribution of zinc in the hippocampus and fascia dentata of adult rats subjected to 20 min of cerebral ischemia. In normal brains TSQ stains only neuropil, in particular the mossy fiber layers in the dentate hilus (CA4) and CA3, but within 2 h after ischemia, TSQ-fluorescent cells were observed in the dentate hilus. At longer survival times TSQ-positive cells stained positively with acid fuchsin, a sign of cellular degeneration. At the same time a decrease in the TSQ fluorescence of the mossy fiber terminals in the dentate hilus (CA4) and the CA3 mossy fiber layer was noted. The observations suggest that zinc many play a role in the selective death of dentate hilar neurons after cerebral ischemia.