The strength (initial circulation) and spacing of vortices in the wake of a circular cylinder have been obtained for conditions under which the body undergoes lateral vibrations. The vibrations of the cylinder were at all times synchronized with those in the wake, thereby suppressing the natural Strouhal frequency in favour of a common synchronized or ‘locked-in’ frequency for the body-wake system. All experiments were performed at a Reynolds number of 144 or 190. An inverse relation between the initial circulation K and the length lF of the vortex formation region was obtained for cylinder oscillations of up to 50% of a diameter, at vibration frequencies both above and below the Strouhal shedding frequency. The initial circulation K of the vortices was increased by as much as 65%, at lF = 1·6 diameters, from the stationary-cylinder value of K corresponding to lF = 3·2d. An increase in the rate A of vorticity generation of 80% from the stationary-cylinder wake value was obtained with the cylinder vibrating at 30% of a diameter and 110% of the Strouhal frequency. Both flow-visualization and hot-wire results show that the lateral spacing of the vortex street decreases as the vibration amplitude of the cylinder is increased, but that the longitudinal vortex spacing is independent of changes in amplitude. The longitudinal spacing, however, varies inversely with the vibration frequency. The street approaches a single line of vortices of alternating sign as the amplitude of vibration approaches values near a full cylinder diameter, and secondary vortex formation at these large amplitudes is associated with the vanishing lateral spacing of the street. Observation of the wake has elucidated the mechanism of vortex formation; the entrainment processes in the formation region have been observed at small intervals over a cycle of the cylinder's motion.