We have derivatized a series of 125I-labeled 8-phenylxanthines with photoactive aryl azide groups on the 1- or 3-position of the xanthine ring. A 3-azidophenethyl derivative was found to be optimal for use as an antagonist photoaffinity label for adenosine A1 receptors. Following photoactivation, radioactivity was covalently and specifically incorporated into a 34,000-dalton and, to a lesser extent, into a 24,000-dalton polypeptide of rat brain membranes. Photoincorporation into both polypeptides was competitively inhibited by adenosine analogues with a potency order typical of adenosine A1 receptors, but the 24,000-dalton polypeptide bound both agonists and antagonists with lower affinity than the 34,000-dalton polypeptide. Specific photolabeling of receptors in brain membranes of rat, guinea pig, dog, and cow did not show any variation in the 34,000-dalton adenosine receptor binding subunit. The adenosine agonist photoaffinity label [125I]N6-(4-azido-3-iodobenzyl)adenosine also specifically photolabeled the 34,000-dalton polypeptide, but photoincorporation of the agonist was less efficient than the antagonist and, unlike the antagonist, was greatly reduced by guanosine 5'-(beta,gamma-imidotriphosphate). The results indicate that the antagonist photoaffinity label may be more useful than agonists particularly for labeling uncoupled receptors.