A series of nonnucleoside 3-aminopyridin-2(1H)-one derivatives was synthesized and evaluated for HIV-1 RT inhibitory properties. Several analogs proved to be potent and highly selective antagonists with in vitro IC50 values as low as 19 nM in the enzyme assay using rC.dG as template-primer. Two compounds from this series, 3-[[(4,7-dimethylbenzoxazol-2-yl)methyl]-amino]-5-ethyl-6-methy lpyridin-2(1H)-one (34, L-697,639) and the corresponding 4,7-dichloro analogue (37, L-697,661) inhibited the spread of HIV-1 IIIb infection by 95% in MT4 cell culture at concentrations of 25-50 nM and were selected for clinical trials as antiviral agents.