SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                             Washington, D.C. 20549



                                    FORM 8-K

                                 CURRENT REPORT

                     PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE
                         SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934


       Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): December 17, 1997


                        The Dun & Bradstreet Corporation
             (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)



       Delaware 1-7155 13-2740040
       (State or other      (Commission File Number)    (I.R.S. Employer
        jurisdiction of                                  Identification No.)
        incorporation)




       One Diamond Hill Road, Murray Hill, N.J.                        07974
       (Address of principal executive offices)                   (Zip Code)


       Registrant's telephone number, including area code: (908) 665-5000.


       Not Applicable
       (Former name or former address, if changed since last report)







Item 5.  Other Events

     The press release  issued by The Dun & Bradstreet  Corporation
on  December  17,  1997  is  attached  to this  Form  8-K as an  exhibit
and is incorporated by reference herein.




                                      -2-




                                    SIGNATURE

     Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of
1934,  the  Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its
behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

                        THE DUN & BRADSTREET CORPORATION


                                       By:
               Name: Nancy L. Henry
              Title: Senior Vice President and Chief Legal Officer


Date:  December 18, 1997







                                      -3-





                                  EXHIBIT INDEX


Exhibit No.                                 Description


99.1 Press Release of the Registrant, dated December 17, 1997.




                                      -4-



EXHIBIT 99.1

For Immediate Release
Wednesday, December 17, 1997


Contact:  David M. Monfried (media)
908.665.5350
monfriedd@mail.dnb.com

Philip C. Danford (analysts/investors)
908.665.5030
danfordp@mail.dnb.com



The Dun & Bradstreet Corporation To Separate
Into Two Public Companies

Reuben H. Donnelley to be an Independent Company;

The Dun & Bradstreet Corporation to Consist of Moody's Investors Service and
the D&B Operating Company

The Dun & Bradstreet Corporation's Board Declares
Quarterly Dividend of $.22


D&B Operating Company Makes Significant Changes
in Sales and Service Process

Company Announces Change in Revenue Recognition Policies;
Non-Cash Charge to Lower Reported 1997 Net Income by $150 million


MURRAY HILL, N.J. - The Dun & Bradstreet Corporation announced today that it
intends to separate into two independent, publicly traded companies -- The
Reuben H. Donnelley Corporation and The Dun & Bradstreet Corporation.  The
transaction is expected to be completed in the summer of 1998.

                                      -5-



Volney Taylor,  chairman and chief executive officer, said, "The separation will
create two sharply focused  companies that will be better positioned to leverage
their different core competencies. We believe customers and shareholders of both
companies will benefit."

After the  transaction  is  completed,  The Dun &  Bradstreet  Corporation  will
consist  of two  leading  global  information  companies  --  Moody's  Investors
Service,   the  preeminent   debt-rating  company  and  publisher  of  financial
information for investors,  and Dun & Bradstreet  (D&B), the leading provider of
commercial   credit,   business  marketing  and  purchasing   information,   and
receivables  management services. D&B and Moody's reported 1996 combined revenue
of $1.8 billion.

Reuben H. Donnelley, headquartered in Purchase, N.Y., is the largest independent
marketer of yellow pages in the United  States,  with 1996  reported  revenue of
approximately $378 million. The company has long-term relationships with leading
telephone companies,  including Bell Atlantic, Sprint, and Ameritech, to provide
sales and other yellow  pages  services.  Frank  Noonan,  currently  senior vice
president  of The Dun &  Bradstreet  Corporation  and  president  of  Reuben  H.
Donnelley,  will become  Donnelley's  chief executive officer upon completion of
the transaction.

The  Dun  &  Bradstreet   Corporation   said  it  currently   anticipates   that
approximately  $450 million of its existing debt will be allocated to Donnelley.
This level of debt is consistent with  Donnelley's  strong and predictable  cash
flow and earnings resulting from its long-term contractual  commitments with the
telephone companies.

                                      -6-



The  separation of the two companies  would be  accomplished  through a tax-free
dividend of a new entity comprised of Moody's and the D&B operating company. The
new entity would be known as The Dun & Bradstreet  Corporation and the remaining
entity would be known as The Reuben H. Donnelley Corporation.  Both companies --
Dun &  Bradstreet  and  Donnelley  -- are  expected to be listed on the New York
Stock Exchange.

Dun & Bradstreet intends to seek a ruling from the Internal Revenue Service with
respect to the  tax-free  treatment  of the  distribution.  The  transaction  is
subject to the Internal  Revenue  Service's  ruling and to final approval by The
Dun & Bradstreet Corporation's board of directors.

Taylor said that  Donnelley,  as a result of several actions taken over the past
two years, is poised for steady growth. He noted that Donnelley has consistently
generated strong cash flow and earnings. Now, he said, with its state-of-the-art
Information  Center in Raleigh,  N.C.,  becoming fully  operational and with the
revised structure of DonTech, the partnership with Ameritech,  Donnelley is well
positioned for the future.

The company said that its yellow pages business is fundamentally  different from
that of the other two companies that comprise The Dun & Bradstreet  Corporation.
Donnelley has built an  exceptionally  strong sales,  marketing,  and publishing
organization that links businesses to prospective customers through yellow pages
and other forms of advertising.  Moody's and D&B, said Taylor,  "are information
companies.   Both  are  highly  trusted,   independent   providers  of  business
information and risk management  services.  Both are best-in-class when it comes
to collecting and analyzing  business data on a global basis and then using that
data to  provide  value-added  information  for  business  decision  makers  and
investors."

                                      -7-



The  separation  will better  position  both  Donnelley and The Dun & Bradstreet
Corporation  to achieve  their  strategic and  financial  objectives,  explained
Taylor.  Each company will be able to set its dividend,  resource allocation and
compensation policies to meet its own unique strategic requirements.


Provides 1998 financial outlook

Taylor said that one of the major  advantages of the  transaction  for The Dun &
Bradstreet  Corporation  is increased  financial  flexibility,  arising from its
reduced level of debt. Taylor also said that, subject to market conditions, once
the  separation  is  concluded  it is his  intention  to  recommend to The Dun &
Bradstreet  Corporation's  board of  directors  that a portion of the  company's
increased debt capacity be used for an additional stock repurchase program.  The
result of a stock repurchase program would be a higher earnings-per-share growth
rate, he noted.

Frank R. Noonan said, "The decision to separate Donnelley from D&B enables us to
concentrate  our full  attention  on  growing  the  yellow  pages  business  and
strengthens our prospects for the future.  Donnelley's  long-term  relationships
with Bell  Atlantic,  Sprint,  and  Ameritech  provide a  springboard  for solid
growth.  In addition,  we're  aggressively  leveraging our recent  experience in
cable TV and Internet  advertising to broaden the sales and marketing  expertise
we provide to businesses.  These and other products and services, along with the
new  capacity  at  our  Raleigh  Information  Center,  provide  exciting  growth
opportunities for us."

It is currently anticipated that both companies will pay dividends that in total
equal the current Dun & Bradstreet  Corporation  annualized dividend of $.88 per
share.  Actual  dividend  decisions will be dependent upon the future  financial
conditions  of the  companies  and  will  be made by the  companies'  boards  of
directors.

                                      -8-



At its meeting  today,  The Dun &  Bradstreet  Corporation's  board of directors
declared a quarterly  dividend of $.22,  payable March 10, 1998, to shareholders
of record at the close of business February 20, 1998.

Taylor announced revised 1998 growth goals for The Dun & Bradstreet  Corporation
(excluding  Reuben H. Donnelley).  The new goal (excluding the transaction costs
associated  with the separation of the two  companies),  he said, is to increase
net income by 7-to-9  percent in 1998, up from the goal of 5-to-7 percent growth
in 1997.

For 1998,  Taylor  reiterated a goal of 8-to-10 percent annual  operating income
growth for Moody's and pointed out that Moody's is expected to have outstanding,
25 plus percent operating income growth in 1997. Similarly, he reiterated a 1998
goal of 5-to-7 percent operating income growth for the D&B operating company. He
noted that D&B's 1998 goal remains unchanged  despite its absorbing  significant
expenses   associated  with  the  Year  2000  software  issue  and  the  ongoing
development of the company's new European computer system.

Noonan  said that,  as  previously  disclosed  to  investors,  1997  revenue and
operating  income for Reuben H. Donnelley are expected to be below that of 1996.
One of the factors in the  decline is a shift in the timing of certain  revenues
from 1997 to 1998. As a result of that revenue shift, as well as good underlying
sales growth and improved operating  efficiencies next year, Donnelley has set a
1998 goal of earnings growth in the double digits.  After 1998,  Noonan said, he
expects  operating  income to increase at or slightly above the industry  growth
rate of 4-to-5  percent.  Noonan said he believes that  Donnelley's  strong cash
flow will be sufficient to service its  anticipated  debt level,  pay dividends,
and invest in the business.

                                      -9-



D&B operating company changes sales and service process


The company also announced that after two years of gradually  expanded  testing,
it is  significantly  changing its ways of selling  products and  servicing  its
customers in order to drive revenue growth and increase customer satisfaction.

"Our testing and analysis  show," said Taylor,  "that our  traditional  customer
contract  and  sales  force  incentive  structure  does not  optimize  increased
customer usage of D&B's products and,  therefore,  constrains  revenue  growth."
Accordingly,  Taylor  explained,  the company  has been  changing  the  customer
contract and sales force incentive structure in Europe and in several U.S. sales
offices  since early 1996 - with  positive  results in terms of revenue  growth,
customer satisfaction, and sales force acceptance.

The  changes in its  customer  relationships,  the  company  said,  have two key
components. First, customers will no longer be required to sign annual contracts
requiring payment in advance and a predetermined level of usage of D&B products.
Customers will now have the option to pay for the products and services they use
on a monthly basis.  Second, sales force compensation will be based primarily on
customer usage rather than the value of the annual contracts customers currently
sign with D&B.  Taylor said this change will provide a strong  incentive for the
company's  sales  force to  familiarize  customers  with  the  full  line of D&B
solutions.


Change in revenue recognition policies


The Dun & Bradstreet  Corporation  also  announced  that it will change  certain
revenue recognition policies.

                                      -10-



The most  significant  accounting  change is that the company will now recognize
revenue for the D&B operating  company's credit services component when products
and  services  are used by  customers,  rather than  ratably  over the  contract
period. This change brings revenue  recognition  practices more in line with the
actual economics of the business and will provide a better measure of results.


The effect of these  changes,  which,  in  accordance  with  Generally  Accepted
Accounting  Principles will be classified as a "cumulative  effect of accounting
changes,"  effective  January 1, 1997, is to reduce reported net income for 1997
by approximately $150 million, or $.88 per share. This entire amount is non-cash
and will  have no impact on cash flow or on the  company's  future  revenue  and
income goals.

"These  changes  will  provide   management  and  shareholders   with  a  better
understanding of the company's  performance and will have no impact on cash flow
in any year,"  said  Taylor.  "Excluding  the  effect of  changes in  accounting
policies on after-tax  income,  The Dun & Bradstreet  Corporation is on track to
deliver at the upper end of its 1997 earnings-per-share expectations."


                                       ###

                                      -11-



Certain  statements  in this press  release  are  forward-looking.  These may be
identified  by the use of  forward-looking  words or phrases such as  "believe,"
"expect,"  "anticipate," "should," "planned," "estimated" and "potential," among
others.  These  forward-looking  statements  are  based on The Dun &  Bradstreet
Corporation's reasonable current expectations. The Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995 provides a "safe harbor" for such forward-looking statements.
In order to  comply  with the  terms of the safe  harbor,  The Dun &  Bradstreet
Corporation  notes that a variety of factors  could  cause The Dun &  Bradstreet
Corporation's or Reuben H.  Donnelley's  actual results and experience to differ
materially from the anticipated results or other expectations  expressed in such
forward-looking  statements.  The risks and  uncertainties  that may  affect the
operations,  performance,  development  and  results  of  The  Dun &  Bradstreet
Corporation's  or Reuben H.  Donnelley's  business  include (1)  complexity  and
uncertainty regarding the development of new high-technology  products; (2) loss
of market share through  competition;  (3) introduction of competing products or
technologies by other companies;  (4) pricing pressures from competitors  and/or
customers;  (5) changes in the business information,  risk management and yellow
pages industries and markets;  (6) variable government funding in key geographic
regions;  (7) the  company's  ability to  protect  proprietary  information  and
technology or to obtain necessary licenses on commercially reasonable terms; (8)
the loss of key employees to investment or commercial  banks, or elsewhere;  and
(9) fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates.

                                      -12-