The effect of hydrostatic pressure up to 10 000 kg/cm2on excess carrier lifetime in single‐crystal samples ofn‐ andp‐type germanium has been studied over a temperature range of 200°–350°K. The results of the experiments are interpreted in terms of existing theories of charge carrier recombination via recombination centers, and expressions for the variation of recombination level energies within the forbidden energy gap as a function of pressure are inferred. These variations are understandable on the basis of a simple Bohr model of defect levels in a dielectric medium whose dielectric constant varies with pressure. Tentative suggestions relating the recombination centers in the experimentally investigated samples to the presence of interstitial and substitutional impurity atoms are advanced.