Light and electron microscopy of barley epidermal cells treated with ethirimol or propiconazole and then inoculated with Erysiphe graminis f. sp. hordei showed the complex reaction of this host–parasite system to fungicides. The completely different biochemical modes of action of the two fungicides were reflected in the ultrastructural changes observed. Specific fungicidal effects could be distinguished from degenerative processes associated with senescence of untreated plants. For ethirimol, the first changes to be observed in the nucleus were blebbing of the outer nuclear membrane, invaginations into the nucleoplasm, and loss of the dark-staining material of nuclear pores. Later on, large areas of the cytoplasm were devoid of ribosomes. Moreover, electron-dense material was found in the perinuclear space and in cisternae of the endoplasmic reticulum. Round bodies, containing electron-dense material of unknown origin, appeared in the cytoplasm. Propiconazole, on the other hand, caused severe malformations of haustoria, host cell wall appositions, and wall thickening. The sheaths surrounding the haustoria were significantly enlarged, and vesicular and multivesicular bodies appeared in the extrahaustorial matrix. In later stages, degenerated haustoria were partially encapsulated by the host cell. Large, rectangular, electron-opaque structures, termed Fibrosinkörper, were observed in secondary hyphae. Both fungicides tested caused swelling of secondary hyphae. Key words: Erysiphe graminis f.sp. hordei, ethirimol, propiconazole, host–parasite system, cytology, electron microscopy.