A series of structurally simple 7-hydroxynaphthalenyl ureas and amides were discovered to be potent ligands of human vanilloid receptor 1 (VR1). 1-(7-Hydroxynaphthalen-1-yl)-3-(4-trifluoromethylbenzyl)urea 5f exhibited nanomolar binding affinity (K(i)=1.0nM) and upon capsaicin challenge, behaved as a potent functional antagonist (IC(50)=4nM). The synthesis and structure-activity relationships (SARs) for the series are described.