We have recently reported the specific binding of [3H]resiniferatoxin to sensory ganglion membranes; this binding appears to represent the postulated vanilloid (capsaicin) receptor. In the present report, we compare the structure/activity relations for binding to rat dorsal root ganglion membranes and for biological responses in the rat, using a series of vanilloids of the capsaicin (homovanilloyl-decylamide, homovanilloyl-dodecylamide, homovanilloyl-cyclododecylamide, homovanilloyl-hexadecylamide, homovanilloyl-piperidine and nonenoyl-homoveratrylamide) and resiniferatoxin (tinyatoxin, 12-deoxyphorbol 13-phenylacetate 20-homovanillate) classes. We find that all the tested biologically active vanilloids, but not the inactive structure analogs, compete for the [3H]resiniferatoxin binding sites in rat dorsal root ganglion membranes, and we conclude that the [3H]resiniferatoxin binding assay may provide an efficient approach for evaluating such compounds. We also provide evidence that the [3H]resiniferatoxin receptor is likely to recognize vanilloids which are inserted into the membranes; and that the apparent activity of capsaicinoids may be significantly influenced by factors other than equilibrium binding affinities.