Effects of leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) on the developmental ability of mouse 8-cell embryos in vitro and in vivo were examined.(1) Eight-cell embryos were cultured with M16+LIF medium in vitro to examine the development to blastocysts and the attachment to culture dish.(2) Blastocysts were transferred to recipient mice following the injection of LIF into the uterine lumen to examine the number of live youngs on Day 17. The results obtained were as follows.(1) When embryos were cultured in a medium supplemented with LIF, the proportion of embryos developed to hatched blastocysts was increased. Blastocysts cultured in the presence of LIF and 10% FCS attached to the surface of the culture dish at a significantly higher frequency than control blastocysts (42vs71-90%).(2) The proportion of embryos that developed into live young was significantly increased, when the LIF was directly injected into the uterine lumen, compared with the control group (15 vs 35%).