Local field potentials were recorded in parietal cortex, areas 5, 7a and 7b, of a macaque monkey to determine if oscillatory bursts occurred in an observable relationship to behavioral events. The monkey performed a visually-guided reaching task to targets displayed on a touch-sensitive video monitor. The task was pre-cued with a 1.6 s preparatory period. Intracortical recordings were made with a microelectrode or epidural recordings with silver ball electrodes. Compared to the relaxed state, task performance was distinguished by a drop in power for frequencies below 20 Hz (most prominent in area 7), and an increase for frequencies above 20 Hz. For the beta frequency band 20-25 Hz, maximal power occurred during the preparatory periods, and minimal power during reach performance. Above 30 Hz, reach preparation and performance episodes did not differ significantly in spectral power, except in parts of area 5 where 40 Hz activity was observed to increase during movement. The spatial extent of the beta preparatory activity was monitored using an array of 15 epidural electrodes, positioned in 2 rows stretching from the arcuate sulcus to the lunate sulcus. During each preparation, premotor cortex was found to be the major focus of increased power at 20 Hz, whereas posterior parietal cortex was the dominant focus of increased power in the 21-29 Hz band. Although beta frequencies were most prevalent during early stages of motor preparation, the oscillatory bursts were not tightly time-locked to the visual signals. beta Frequencies may be associated with an internally-triggered process to prepare the upcoming movement.