In this study, the effects of iron on cytochrome c oxidase (CcO) in rat lung mitochondria were examined. Similar to liver mitochondria, iron accumulated considerably in lung mitochondria (more than 2-fold). Likewise, the reactive oxygen species and nitric oxide (NO) content of mitochondria were increased by more than 50% and 100%, respectively. NO might be produced by nitric oxide synthase (NOS), eNOS and iNOS type, with particular contribution by NOS in mitochondria. The respiratory control ratio of iron overloaded lung mitochondria dropped to nearly 50% due to increased state 4. Likewise, cytochrome c oxidase activity was lowered significantly to approximately 50% due to excess iron. Real-time PCR revealed that the expression of isoforms 1 and 2 of subunit IV of CeO was enhanced greatly under excess iron conditions. Taken together, these results show that oxidative phosphorylation within lung mitochondria may be influenced by iron overload through changes in cytochrome c oxidase and NO.