The purpose of this work was to improve the oral bioavailability of cyclosporine A (CyA) by preparation the CyA-pH sensitive nanoparticles. The CyA-pH sensitive nanoparticles were prepared by using poly(methacrylic acid and methacrylate) copolymer. The characterization and the dispersion state of CyA at the surface or inside the polymeric matrices of the nanoparticles were investigated. The in vitro release studies were conducted by ultracentrifuge method. The bioavailability of CyA from nanoparticles and Neoral microemulsion was assessed in Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats at a dose of 15 mg/kg. The particle size of the nanoparticles was within the range from 37.4 +/- 5.6 to 106.7 +/- 14.8 nm. The drug entrapped efficiency was very high (from 90.9 to 99.9%) and in all cases the drug was amorphous or molecularly dispersed within the nanoparticles polymeric matrices. In vitro release experiments revealed that the nanoparticles exhibited perfect pH-dependant release profiles. The relative bioavailability of CyA was markedly increased by 32.5% for CyA-S100 nanoparticles (P < 0.05), and by 15.2% and 13.6% for CyA-L100-55 and CyA-L100 nanoparticles respectively, while it was decreased by 5.2% from CyA-E100 nanoparticles when compared with the Neoral microemulsion. With these results, the potential of pH-sensitive nanoparticles for the oral delivery of CyA was confirmed.