Galanin-like peptide (GALP), a 29-amino acid neuropeptide, is located in the hypothalamic arcuate nucleus (ARC), binds to galanin receptor subtype 2, and induces food intake upon intracerebroventricular (icv) injection in the rats. However, neural mechanisms underlying its orexigenic action remain unclear. We aimed to identify the nuclei and neuron species that mediate the food intake in response to icv GALP injection. Icv injection of GALP, as powerfully as that of neuropeptide Y, increased food intake for the initial 2 h. GALP injected focally into the dorsomedial nucleus (DMN), but not the ARC, lateral hypothalamus (LH) and paraventricular nucleus (PVN), stimulated food intake for 2 h after injection. In contrast, galanin injected into the DMN had no effect. DMN-lesion rats that received icv GALP injection showed attenuated feeding compared with the control rats. Icv GALP injection increased c-Fos expression in NPY-containing neurons in the DMN, but not the ARC. GALP increased cytosolic calcium concentration ([Ca²⁺]_i) in the NPY-immunoreactive neurons isolated from the DMN but not the ARC. Furthermore, both anti-NPY IgG and NPY antagonists, when pre-injected, counteracted the feeding induced by GALP injection. These data show that icv GALP injection induces a potent short-term stimulation of food intake mainly via activation of NPY-containing neurons in the DMN.