In order to determine at which follicular size goat oocytes were capable of resuming and completing meiosis, we evaluated their ability to mature in vitro and measured their maturation promoting factor (MPF) activity by histone H1 kinase assay. The results indicated that goat oocyte meiotic competence developed progressively in follicles ranging from 0.5 to 3 mm; the oocytes acquired the ability to resume meiosis in follicles of 0.5-0.8 mm, to reach metaphase I (MI) in follicles of 1-1.8 mm, and to reach metaphase II (MII) in follicles larger than 3 mm. The presence of MPF activity was first observed in oocytes arrested at early prometaphase I and reached a maximum level in oocytes blocked in metaphase I (MI). In the second part of this study, RNA synthesis and nucleolar changes were analyzed during the growth period. The acquisition of meiotic competence was accompanied by nucleolar compaction and a dramatic decrease in RNA synthesis. Changes in protein patterns were also analyzed, but only slight differences were observed among oocytes from the different classes.