Under physiological conditions, the motility of smooth muscle in digestive tract is mainly regulated by enteric nervous system (ENS). However, how neural signal is transmitted to smooth muscle is not fully understood. Autonomic nerve endings in the smooth muscle layer form large number of varicosities which contain neurotransmitters. It was considered that nerve pulses arriving at the varicosities may cause the release of neurotransmitters, which may diffuse to the smooth muscle cells to induce contractile or relaxant responses. Over the past decade, a new understanding of the neurotransmission between ENS and smooth muscle has emerged, which emphasizes the role of a functional syncytium consisting of the interstitial cells of Cajal (ICC), the platelet-derived growth factor receptor α positive (PDGFRα+) cells and the smooth muscle cells. Within the syncytium, purine neurotransmitters bind to P2Y1 receptors on PDGFRα+ cells, activating small-conductance calcium activated potassium channel (SK3) to hyperpolarize PDGFRα+ cells, and thus hyperpolarize smooth muscle cells through gap junction, resulting in relaxation of smooth muscle. In this paper, we review the research progress in the field of inhibitory purinergic neurotransmission in the gastrointestinal tract.