The potent tumoricidal activity of interleukin 12 (IL-12) is thought to be mediated by the activation and polarization of natural killer (NK) cells and T helper type 1 (T_H1) cells, respectively. By systematic analysis of the IL-12-induced immune response to subcutaneous melanoma (B16), we found that tumor suppression was mediated independently of T lymphocytes or NK cells. IL-12 initiated local antitumor immunity by stimulating a subset of NKp46⁺ lymphoid tissue–inducer (LTi) cells dependent on the transcription factor RORγt. The presence of these NKp46⁺ LTi cells induced upregulation of adhesion molecules in the tumor vasculature and resulted in more leukocyte invasion. Thus, this innate cell type is responsive to IL-12 and is a powerful mediator of tumor suppression.