The effects of naloxone, an opioid antagonist, on arginine vasopressin (AVP) secretion were examined in conscious unrestrained rats under both basal and stimulated conditions. Intravenous injection of naloxone in a dose of 0.1 mg/kg did not significantly affect the basal plasma AVP level. However, 0.5 or 2.5 mg/kg naloxone significantly raised the basal AVP level in euhydrated rats. Naloxone (0.5 mg/kg) significantly enhanced AVP secretion after 72-h water deprivation. However, the enhancement was more prominent in euhydrated rats than in dehydrated rats. Pretreatment with naloxone (0.5 mg/kg) also significantly prolonged AVP secretion induced by intracerebroventricular injection of angiotensin-II (100 ng). Moreover, naloxone (0.5 mg/kg) significantly increased AVP secretion induced by intracerebroventricular injection of carbachol (10 ng). Naloxone (0.5 mg/kg) altered neither basal blood pressure nor the angiotensin-II-induced pressor response, but augmented the carbachol-induced pressor response. This suggests that facilitation of AVP secretion by naloxone is not due to a reflex mechanism resulting from decreased blood pressure. These results indicate that endogenous opioid peptides exert a tonic inhibitory control on AVP secretion in rats.