BACKGROUND: A clinically significant oxytocin-deficient state (OXT-D) has been established in adults with arginine vasopressin deficiency and there is a need to develop diagnostic testing. Kisspeptin (KP) is a candidate for such a test as KP receptors are found on oxytocinergic neurons, and KP administration increases plasma OXT in animals. We hypothesized that intravenous KP administration would increase peripheral OXT levels post-injection in healthy adults. METHODS: KP-112-121 (KP analog, 0.24 nmol/kg bolus) was administered to 12 healthy adults (50% female). Serum OXT was measured before and 10, 20, 40, 60 minutes after KP administration. RESULTS: Males and females did not differ significantly in age, BMI, or baseline OXT levels. Ten minutes after KP, OXT increased by 18.8% from baseline (FDR-p=0.004) with a greater increase in males than females (31.9% vs. 5.7%, respectively, FDR-p=0.004). CONCLUSIONS: Our data support KP as a candidate for a provocative test to identify OXT-D in males.