Although many colleges and universities use "parental notification" to inform parents of students' alcohol use, the impact of this intervention on student and parent behavior is unclear. Surveys were obtained from 326 parents of university undergraduates, 56 of whom had received a notification. Parent responses to the notification were largely positive, and the association of notification to parent and student drinking and to the quality of parent-student communication on alcohol and other topics was also investigated. This impact of parental notification on parents and students and the importance of parental involvement with college students are discussed. (Contains 2 tables and 1 figure.)