The permeation rate of 222Rn ( N Rn) through the high purity annealed and cold worked Au was measured at 30–150°C onatomic scale by means of a modified highly sensitive α-spectroscopic method. Virgin annealed An was impermeable to 222Rn upto 150°C, but it became permeable after being subjected to a thermal cycle of negative magnitude, whereas virgin cold worked Au was highly permeable at room temperature. Prolonged isothermal holding resulted in permeation plateaux in annealed Au, and fairly well defined permeation peaks in cold worked Au. The activation energy of permeation in cold worked Au (18.0 to 22.5 kJ/mol) was appreciably smaller than that in annealed Au (33.2 to 35.4 kJ/mol), while in the former N Rn was about two orders of magnitude higher. The observations have been interpreted in terms of capture of vacancies by diffusing 222Rn atoms and structural changes in diffusion paths (e.g., grain boundaries) by deformation induced defects.