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Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) cause developmental and physiological anomalies in the reproductive system. Fertilized chicken egg provides a simple whole organism test system that allows examination of xenoestrogenic effects at different levels of biological organization. This study investigated the effects of PCBs on homeostasis of chicken primordial germ cells (PGCs) from the initial stage until completion of their settlement in the gonadal primordium. The blastoderm of chicken embryos was injected with 1l of PCBs (10mol/l) prior to incubation and then the number of PGCs was determined during its migration and development. The number of PGCs in germinal crescents in PCBs-treated groups was slightly decreased (P=0.068), but it was reduced significantly at stages 13-15 and 28-30 (P<0.01, respectively) compared with controls. These results suggest that PCBs hindered the migration of PGCs from germinal crescent to blood vessel and affected their residence in germinal anlage, or alternatively, the mitotic division of PGCs during its migration.