Previous studies have demonstrated that chronic cold exposure activates the sympathetic nervous system, increases energy expenditure, improves glucose tolerance, enhances insulin sensitivity, and stimulates glucose uptake in peripheral tissues [brown and white adipose tissues (BAT and WAT) and muscles] of normal rats. The goal of the present studies was to test whether the selective ₃-adrenergic agonist CL-316243 (CL) would mimic the beneficial effects of cold exposure in lean and obese ZDF/Gmi-fa male (ZDF) rats, a new model of type II diabetes. In obese ZDF rats, chronic infusion of CL (1 mg · kg¹ · day¹ for 14 days) significantly decreased body weight gain, food intake, and WAT weight. It also increased total tissue cytochrome oxidase activity, not only in BAT (15 times), but also in WAT (2-4 times), suggesting that it progressively enhanced mitochondriogenesis in adipose tissues. CL treatment normalized hyperglycemia and reduced hyperinsulinemia and circulating free fatty acid (FFA) levels. It also improved glucose tolerance and reduced insulin response during an intravenous glucose tolerance test. In general, the beneficial effects of CL were more pronounced in obese than in lean rats. Hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic glucose clamps combined with the [2-³H]deoxyglucose method revealed that CL markedly improved insulin responsiveness in obese rats (3-4 times) and increased glucose uptake in BAT (21 times), WAT (3 times), skeletal muscles (2-3 times), and in the diaphragm (2.8 times), but not in the heart. It is concluded that chronic CL treatment improves glucose tolerance and insulin responsiveness in obese ZDF rats by a mechanism similar to that induced by chronic cold exposure, i.e., by stimulating facultative thermogenesis, mitochondriogenesis, and glucose utilization in BAT and WAT. In addition to this mechanism, the reduction in plasma FFA levels induced by chronic CL treatment may further contribute to enhance glucose uptake in skeletal muscles (a tissue that does not express typical ₃-adrenoceptors) via the "glucose-fatty acid" cycle. The antiobesity and antidiabetic properties of CL suggest that selective ₃-adrenergic agonists may represent useful agents for the treatment of type II diabetes.