Surface and seabed drifters were used to study the subtidal circulation in Delaware Bay and over the adjacent continental shelf of the Middle Atlantic Bight. Over 7000 drifters were released in eight experiments during the year-long study period. Velocity vector maps representing the study period mean fields for the surface and bottom confirmed the pattern of classical, two-layer, estuarine flow, with surface water moving seaward from the Bay onto the shelf and bottom water landward over the shelf from at least as far as 40 km seaward of the Bay mouth. Within the Bay, bottom water moved laterally toward the nearest shore, diverging horizontally along a line roughly marking the deep channels. The surface speeds were about an order of magnitude larger than the bottom. Significant variations from this mean pattern were seen between the eight experiments. Return percentages for surface and bottom drifters correlated inversely over the eight experiments. Correlations with wind stress were above the level of significance, and winds explained about two-thirds of the total variance. The strong coupling found between the subtidal circulation in the estuary and over the shelf is consistent with recent observational and modeling studies.