The effect of gamma-irradiation, with doses from 10(2)-2 x 10(3) kGy, On the dielectric properties of solid-state collagen was studied. The temperature dependence of the constants epsilon’ and epsilon" revealed a decrease in the denaturation temperature with increasing dose of irradiation. Dielectric dispersion observed in the frequency range 10 Hz to 10 kHz was suggested to be due to Maxwell-Wagner-Sillars polarization. In addition, an increase in the irradiation dose resulted in increasing activation energy of bovine achilles tendon collagen.