Isomeric 5(6)-(4-pyridyl)- and 6(5)-(4-substituted-phenyl)-2,3-dihydroimidazo[2,1-b]thiazoles were prepared by a mixed benzoin-imidazothione route, and their structures were assigned by spectral comparison to compounds of established substitution pattern. The structural assignment was confirmed by X-ray analysis. Examination of the compounds for antiinflammatory activity by an adjuvant arthritic rat assay revealed strikingly higher potencies for one analogous series than for their isomers. This selectivity was paralleled in the ability to stimulate cell-mediated immunity, as reflected in an oxazolone-induced contact sensitivity model. A drug-receptor complex is proposed that requires at least three sites of interactions.