Several thousand magnetic measurements at distances from 3 to 10RE from the database of Fairfield et al. [1994> have been used for studying the magnetic field response to variations of the hourly-averaged values of the solar wind dynamic pressure. The response differs from that predicted by the Mead [1964> model. Increase in the dynamic pressure compresses the magnetospheric field in the dayside sector mainly. In the most part of the nightside a depression dominates. The depression is connected with the growth of the cross-tail current. ¿ 1998 American Geophysical Union