The unique properties of agonist binding to the frog erythrocyte beta-adrenergic receptor include the existence of two affinity forms of the receptor. The proportion and relative affinity of these two states of the receptor for ligands varies with the intrinsic activity of the agonist and the presence of guanine nucleotides. The simplest model for hormone-receptor interactions which can explain and reproduce the experimental data involves the interaction of the receptor R with an additional membrane component X, leading to the agonist-promoted formation of a high affinity ternary complex HRX. Computer modeling of agonist binding data with a ternary complex model indicates that the model can fit the data with high accuracy under conditions where the ligand used is either a full or a partial agonist and where the system is altered by the addition of guanine nucleotide or after treatment with group-specific reagents, e.g. p-hydroxymercuribenzoate. The parameter estimates obtained indicate that the intrinsic activity of the agonist is correlated significantly with the affinity constant L of the component X for the binary complex HR. The major effect of adding guanine nucleotides is to destabilize the ternary complex HRX from which both the hormone H and the component X can dissociate. The modulatory role of nucleotides on the affinity of agonists for the receptor is consistent with the assumption that the component X is the guanine nucleotide binding site. The ternary complex model was also applied successfully to the turkey erythrocyte receptor system. The model provides a general scheme for the activation by agonists of adenylate cyclase-coupled receptor systems and also of other systems where the effector might be different.