A new method is presented for estimating spontaneous emission rates A(s −1) of polyatomic molecules in highly excited vibrational states. The method is used to calculate these rates as functions of vibrational energy for a variety of molecules. At vibrational energies of 1–5 eV, rates A of 10–10 3s −1 are calculated that increase with increasing vibrational energy and display a spread of an order of magnitude at each specific energy. For example, the HO 2 radical has A ≈ 100 s −1 at 1 eV and A ≈ 600 s −1 at 5 eV whereas C 2H 4 has A ≈ 15 s −1 at 1 eV and A ≈ 90 s −1 at 5 eV. If mechanical and electrical harmonicity are assumed, A is found to be linearly dependent on vibrational energy if this energy significantly exceeds the zero-point energy. The theory should prove useful in estimating rates of radiative Stabilization in radiative association processes.