We present a comprehensive study of electric field effects on the global and local chemical reactivity indices. We use the effect of an applied uniform electric field on chosen molecules and stockholder population scheme to derive the local reactivity profiles. We find that the changes in the pattern of reactivity indices are strongly influenced when the electric field is applied to the system, this effect being more noticeable as the number of atoms in the molecule increases as well as the strength of the applied field. The field-induced polarization leads to changes in the global and local reactivity descriptors. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.