Rats aged 7 to 9 days were injected for 1 to 3 days with 5 mg/100 g body weight cortisone acetate per day. This led to an increase in the weight of brown adipose tissue, an increase in its fat content, and a decrease in its protein content. The content of norepinephrine in brown adipose tissue was decreased by cortisone treatment. The in vitro increase in O2 consumption following the addition of 5 μg nore-pinephrine/ml in vitro to brown adipose tissue from control animals was abolished by cortisone administration. Lipolysis due to norepinephrine was, however, not affected and was even slightly increased in cortisone-treated rats. Mitochondrial succinate–tetrazolium reductase activity was decreased after treatment with cortisone. It is concluded that cortisone alters the mitochondria of brown adipose tissue but has little effect on lipolysis as such. The content of norepinephrine in brown adipose tissue was found to decrease immediately after birth and then to return rapidly to higher levels.