A soybean cell line tolerant to isoxaben was isolated by callus selection in herbicide-containing medium. The growth of tolerant suspension cells was not affected by 10 μM isoxaben, which prevented the growth of wild-type cultures. The growth of a wheat cell culture was little affected by isoxaben, in accordance to the tolerance of wheat plants to the herbicide. The metabolic fate of labeled isoxaben in the three types of cultures was examined. By comparison with the sensitive, wild-type soybean cell culture, the tolerance of the selected soybean cell culture and that of wheat cell culture cannot be explained by either quantitative or qualitative differences of herbicide metabolism. These results favor the hypothesis that the sensitivity or tolerance of the cell cultures is determined at the level of the cellular target of the herbicide. © 1991.