The use of the intrinsic Josephson effect in layered high-Tcsuperconductors for parametric amplification of a signal in the presence of a strong pump radiation is investigated. Model calculations are performed both for thin films and massive material with a surface parallel to the c direction assuming normal incidence of the radiation with electric field parallel in c direction. In both cases a positive signal gain is obtained in a limited range of frequencies and pump power. ©1997 American Institute of Physics.