Intracisternal injections of hypertonic NaCl elicited the pressor responses in urethane anesthetized spontaneously hypertensive and normotensive Wistar rats. The intracisternal pretreatment of 1-Sar-8-Ile-angiotensin II, angiotensin II analog, could abolish the pressor responses to intracisternal injections of 5% NaCl in urethane anesthetized spontaneously hypertensive rats, while basal blood pressure was not affected by these pretreatment. Both intracisternal and intravenous administration of captopril, an angiotensin I converting enzyme inhibitor, did not alter the pressor effect of hypertonic NaCl in normotensive rats. Basal blood pressure was lowered by intravenous injection of captopril. The involvement of angiotensin II in the pressor mechanism of hypertonic NaCl was confirmed by the enhanced pressor responses to intracisternal injections of 5% NaCl in urethane anesthetized rats pretreated intracisternally with angiotensin II. These findings suggest that angiotensin II itself could play an important role in the pressor responses to intracisternal injections of hypertonic NaCl without involving a converting enzyme system.