We have found that stem cell factor (SCF) selectively enhances the survival of cultured embryonic chick dorsal root ganglia (DRG) neurons. Neurons grown in the presence of SCF expressed both neurofilament 150 kDa subunit and calcitonin-gene related peptide. SCF does not, however, enhance the survival of parasympathetic, placode-derived sensory or sympathetic neurons in culture. Combining SCF with brain-derived neurotrophic factor or neurotrophin-3, but not with NGF, maintains more neurons than either factor alone, suggesting that these factors have partially overlapping activities. SCF preferentially rescues small neurons from the DRG. Labeling studies with bromodeoxyuridine indicate that the neurons sustained by SCF are not differentiating from a dividing progenitor.