Protein degradation via the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway (UPP) plays a key role in diverse aspects of cell physiology and development. In the early embryo, the UPP may play an important role in the transition from maternal to embryonic control of development. Disruptions in the UPP could thus compromise embryo developmental potential. Additionally, species-specific requirements may dictate diverse patterns of regulation of the UPP components. To investigate the expression of UPP components in a non human primate embryo model, to compare expression between a primate and non-primate species, and to determine whether disruption of this pathway may contribute to reduced developmental potential, we examined the expression of more than fifty mRNAs encoding UPP components in rhesus monkey oocytes and embryos. We compared this expression between the rhesus monkey and mouse embryo, and between rhesus monkey oocytes and embryos of high, intermediate, and low developmental potential. We report here the temporal patterns of UPP gene expression in oocytes and during preimplantation development, including striking differences between the rhesus monkey and mouse. We also report significant differences in UPP gene expression correlating with oocyte and embryo developmental competence, and associated with altered regulation of maternally inherited mRNAs encoding these proteins