&NA;We studied the status of estrogen (ER) and progesterone (PR) receptors in meningiomas removed from 52 patients, comparing dextran‐coated charcoal (DCC), nuclear binding (NB), and immunoperoxidase (IP) assays. Each of the assays was performed independently by investigators well‐experienced with these assays. The NB assay is a new assay that measures functional steroid receptors—that is, the activation of the receptor and its binding to the nucleus. The assay is very sensitive and requires a relatively small amount of tissue as compared with the DCC assay. In agreement with data from other studies, PR were detected in most meningiomas by all 3 methods: in 69% of the cases by NB, in 76% by DCC, and in 89% by IP. ER were detected in only a few cases: in 33% by NB, in 2% by DCC, and in none by the IP assay. The agreement for PR sites was 62% for all 3 assays; it was 66% between the NB and DCC assays, 67% between the NB and IP assays, and 86% between the DCC and IP assays. Of 26 cases that were positive by the DCC assay, 6 (23%) were negative by NB. The overall agreement for all three ER assays was 65%. The data suggest that the majority of meningiomas contain high‐affinity receptors for progesterone, that estrogen receptors are present in only a few meningiomas, and that some of these estrogen and progesterone receptors appear to be functional. (Neurosurgery25:546‐553, 1989)