By assuming the existence of a quasi-steady state of binary orbits of collapsed objects, a simple theory, relating the initial input distribution of semimajor axis and eccentricity to the steady-state distribution of these parameters, is formulated under the working hypothesis that the mechanism of variation of the above parameters is the emission of gravitational waves. In order to illustrate this, a plausible steady-state distribution for the case of high-mass binary pulsars is obtained.