The mechanism of the contractile response of longitudial muscle of rabbit ileum to substance P (SP) has been investigated. The contractions in rabbit ileum under various conditions were recorded isometrically The following results were obtained. 1) The contractions by SP increased according to concentrations. SP¡¤induced contraction was not sustained but faded rapidly at 10-7M. The response to the commutative addition of SP was decreased in comparison to the response to separate administration of each concentration . 2) The response to 10-8M SP after 5 min application cf 10-7M SP was increased with increasing the time interval between the administration of 10-7 and 10-8M SP. 3) The treatment of rabbit ileum by 10-7M SP for 5 min didn t decrease the response to 10-6M acetylcholine. 4) 10-6M atropine had no effect of the contractile response to 10-7M SP. The response to 10-7M SP was normal or subnormal in the presence of 3 mM tetraethylammonium(TEA). 5) 100k solution, 10-4M ouabain, and Na-free solution inhibited the response to 10-8M SP and 3 mM TEA completely, and to 10-7M SP incompletely. 3 mM TEA induced a considerable contraction in K-free solution, but 10-8M SP didn t induce the contraction. 10-6M norepinephrine decreased the contractile responses to SP and TEA. 6) The contractile response to 10-7M SP was dependent on the extracellular Ca2+ concentrations to 1.8 mM. 7) The contractile response to 10-7M SP remained 15% of the maximal response after bathing the ileum in a Ca-free solution for 2.5 min. 8) The responsiveness to SP was completely lost within 10 min of bathing in Ca-free solution, but was restored by the exposure to Ca2+. The restorative effect of Ca2+ depended on the concentration of Ca2+, and on time for which the tissue exposed to this Ca2+ concentration. These results suggest that there are two mechanisms of the action by which the low concentrations of substance P causes the contraction of intestinal smooth muscle: the reduction of K conductance and a mechanism dependent on the extracellular Ca2+, and that high concentration of SP may elicit a contraction by releasing Ca2+ from an intracellular store, which is not as sensitive to removal of extracellular Ca2+ or as easily accessible to EGTA as the extracellular space of the muscle. The location of this store is not known; it may be associated with the internal side of the cell membrane.