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Nineteen patients with moderately severe arterial hypertension received propranolol (120 mg daily), or chlorthalidone (100 mg daily), both medications together, and placebos in a double-blind crossover trial. Each treatment was given for 5 weeks; blood pressure was measured at weekly intervals. Propranolol alone reduced arterial pressure by 9/8 mm Hg, a statistically insignificant change. Use of chlorthalidone alone was accompanied by an average reduction in arterial blood pressure of 23/9 mm Hg. Both drugs together lowered blood pressure by 33/15 mm Hg. Heart rate was lower in regimens including propranolol; body weight and serum potassium and chloride concentration were lower and blood urea nitrogen and serum creatinine were higher in regimens containing chlorthalidone. Propranolol, in the dose given, is a less effective hypotensive drug than is chlorthalidone