Leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) and ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) share common components in their multimeric receptors. Both cytokine receptors contain gp130/interleukin‐6‐receptor transducer as well as gp190/low‐affinity LIF receptor. For CNTF, addition of a third subunit, or α subunit, defines the high‐affinity CNTF receptor. In the present study, we analyzed the binding interactions of LIF and CNTF in human cell lines and showed a mutual displacement for LIF and CNTF toward the trimeric high‐affinity CNTF receptor. Similar results were obtained in the JEG cell line, which only expressed the gp130/gp190 high‐affinity LIF receptor, by adding a soluble form of the αCNTF receptor to the system to reconstitute the high‐affinity‐type CNTF receptor. The different receptor subunits were then expressed separately in transfected cells and their binding capacities analyzed. The results showed that the heterocomplex CNTF/αCNTF receptor bound to gp130 with an affinity of 3–5 × 10⁻¹⁰M, whereas LIF interacted mainly with gp190. In summary, the observed competition between LIF and CNTF does not result from the binding to a common site or receptor subunit, but rather to the interaction of the three receptor components to create a conformational site common to both LIF and CNTF.