Blood-oxygenation-level-dependent functional magnetic resonance imaging (BOLD fMRI) of cortical layers relies on the hemodynamic response and is biased toward large veins on the cortical surface. Functional changes in the cerebral metabolic rate of oxygen (ΔCMRO2) may reflect neural cortical function better than BOLD fMRI, but it is unknown whether the calibrated BOLD model for functional CMRO2 measurement remains valid at high resolution. Here, we measure laminar ΔCMRO2 elicited by visual stimulation in macaque primary visual cortex (V1) and find that ΔCMRO2 peaks in the middle of the cortex, in agreement with autoradiographic measures of metabolism. ΔCMRO2 values in gray matter are similar as found previously. Reductions in CMRO2 are associated with veins at the cortical surface, suggesting that techniques for vein removal may improve the accuracy of the model at very high resolution. However, our results show feasibility of laminar ΔCMRO2 measurement, providing a physiologically meaningful metric of laminar functional metabolism. Display omitted •Laminar ΔCMRO2 is measured in macaque V1 using calibrated BOLD fMRI•ΔCMRO2 is highest in layer IV, in agreement with histological measures of energy use•The calibrated bold model is robust at laminar resolution (500 × 500 μm2)•Superficial veins show decreases in ΔCMRO2 due to their high ΔBOLD and low ΔCBF Bohraus et al. measure the functional cerebral metabolic rate of oxygen Δ(CMRO2) in macaque V1 at laminar resolution using calibrated BOLD fMRI. They show maximum functional energy use in layer IV, in agreement with histology, providing a physiological measure of functional activation in visual cortex.