Experiments were conducted to determine the effect of the interval of time between artificial insemination and subsequent oviposition upon fertility, early embryonic morality, and the distribution of spermatozoa in the oviduct. White Leghorns were used. Semen was collected by the massage method from 16 males and diluted 1 to 1.5 with a phosphate buffer containing antibiotics. Hens with or without an egg in the uterus were vaginallY inseminated with 0.05 ml of the diluted semen. Eggs laid subsequently were incubated for 4 to 5 days and then examined for embryonic development. The results are summalized as follows: 1. When oviposition in hens with a hard-shelled egg in the uterus was induced by the injection of posterior pituitary extract immediately, 1, 2, and 3 hours after insemination, eggs laid during the first week (2-8 days) showed 36.6%, 65.9%, 85.7%, and 100% fertility, respectively An experiment conducted on hens with a soft-shelled egg in the uterus gave similar result. The kind of egg in the uterus at time of insemination had no effect on early embryonic mortality. 2. Hens that laid normally during the first 3 hours following insemination gave lower fertility in eggs produced in the subsequent week than did those laying their first egg from 4 to 5 hours after insemination. Analysis of covaiance of fertility in relation to the interval of time between insemination and subsequent oviposition revealed that the two populations, normal oviposition group and induced oviposition group, may have the same regression lines. 3. The distribution of spermatozoa in the oviduct 3 hours and 20 minutes after insemination were determined by using spermatozoa labeled with ^32P. There was no effect associated with the time that oviposition had been induced. A high percentage of deposited spermatozoa was recovered from the faces and eggs expelled by the hens.