Six insulin-like growth factor binding proteins (IGFBP) have been identified in the conditioned medium from sheep thyroid cells cultured under serum-free conditions. IGFBPs of 32, 28, 23 and 19 kDa were secreted by cells cultured for 14 days in serum-free and hormone-free medium. The constitutive secretion of IGFBP was inhibited by thyrotropin (TSH, 0.3 mU per mL). The effect was most marked on the secretion of the 28 kDa BP. High insulin concentrations stimulated the secretion of this IGFBP. The stimulatory effects of insulin were inhibited by TSH. Growth hormone treatment decreased the secretion of the 28 kDa protein. Tetradecanoylphorbol-13 acetate (TPA) and epidermal growth factor (EGF) both of which stimulate thyroid cell growth but inhibit differentiated function, markedly stimulated IGFBP secretion and induced the appearance of a 46 and a 150 kDa IGFBP. The effects of EGF and TPA were not identical. A rat IGFBP-2 cDNA reacted with sheep thyroid RNA of approximate size 1.6 kb. TPA treatment increased IGFBP-2 mRNA. Other hormones used to enhance differentiation and growth in thyroid cells in culture i.e. transferrin, somatostatin, cortisol and glycyl-histidyl-lysine acetate had no marked effects on IGFBP secretion nor on TSH-dependent, insulin-mediated iodide uptake and organification and cell growth. We show a correlation between secretion of high molecular weight IGFBP with enhanced growth but decreased function. Conversely, we find a correlation between decreased secretion of the 28 kDa BP and increased growth and function.