Recent contributions to instructional communication theory and research have brought new attention to the issue of instructional influence in the classroom. This study explored the teacher trait Machiavellianism and its relationship with students' perceptions of teacher power. Data were drawn from paired samples of college teachers and classes of students. Teacher Machiavellianism was found to be negatively related to students' perceptions of teacher expert power and positively related with perceptions of teacher legitimate power. The results provide a theoretical foundation for future research in instructional communication. Implications of this study concerning the development of “state” or situational Machivellianism measure for teachers are discussed.