A series of substituted 2-butylbenzimidazoles bearing a biphenylylmethyl moiety at the 1-position was prepared via three synthetic routes and evaluated for angiotensinII (AII) receptorantagonistic activity (in vitro and in vivo). Binding affinity was determined using bovine adrenal cortical membrane. Substitution at the 4-, 5-, or 6-position reduced the affinity relative to that of the unsubstituted