The circumventricular organs (CVOs) of the brain are specialised, structurally unique CNS regions of the CNS that lack the normal blood brain barrier. The area postrema (AP), subfornical organ (SFO), and organum vasculosum of the lamina terminalis (OVLT), are the only CVOs containing neuronal cell bodies (as opposed to nerve terminals) and are classified as the “sensory CVOs” in view of their established roles as critical integrative centres where circulating peptides act to regulate the cardiovascular and neuroendocrine systems. My presentation will focus on an emerging literature which suggests that two of these sensory CVOs, the AP and SFO, also play essential roles in sensing circulating metabolic signals. The AP has been shown to be an important CNS site containing neurons which respond to changes in the concentrations of many metabolic signals including amylin, glucose, glucagon like peptide-1 (GLP-1), cholecystokinin (CCK), adrenomedullin, orexin, adiponectin, peptide YY (PYY), and ghrelin. SFO neurons have for some time been recognized as sensors of signals involved in the regulation of fluid balance including angiotensin, calcium, endothelin, osmolarity, and sodium. Additional roles for the SFO in sensing metabolic signals such as calcitonin, amylin, and ghrelin have more recently been demonstrated suggesting additional potentially important roles for this CVO in the regulation of energy balance. We have recently completed microarray analysis of AP and SFO which provides new information indicating that these two CVOs not only contain high densities of receptors for a number of important metabolic signals, but also express high levels of mRNA for neurotransmitters involved in the central regulation of energy balance. I will also discuss more recent work suggesting roles for AP and SFO in sensing circulating leptin and transducing such information for the circulation to medullary and hypothalamic autonomic control centres. Collectively these studies suggest that AP and SFO play critical roles in sensing and integrating circulating information regarding energy status, and provide some impetus for integration of AP and SFO in models of the CNS circuitry controlling energy balance. In addition these data identify these unique CNS structures as potential sites for integration of metabolic and cardiovascular signals, which may contribute to the established comorbidities associated with obesity including cancer, cardiovascular disease and stroke.