γ-Aminobutyric acid (GABA) is the main inhibitory neurotransmitter of the thalamus. We used postembedding immunocytochemistry to examine the synaptic organization of GABA-positive profiles in the dorsal superficial subdivision of the cat medial geniculate nucleus (MGN). Three groups of GABA-positive profiles participate in synapses: axon terminals, dendrites, and presynaptic dendrites. The presynaptic GABA-positive terminals target mainly GABA-negative dendrites. The GABA-positive postsynaptic profiles receive input primarily from GABA-negative axons. The results indicate that the synaptic organization of GABA-positive profiles in the dorsal superficial subdivision of the MGN nucleus is very similar to that in other thalamic nuclei. J. Comp. Neurol. 453:45–56, 2002. © 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc.