1. To elucidate whether baroreflex could contribute to manifest the diurnal blood pressure variations (DBPV) in normotension and hypertension, DBPV were recorded continuously via a femoral artery in awake normotensive (NT) rats and spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) with and without sinoaortic denervation (SAD). To determine the role of central alpha2-adrenergic receptor system in DBPV in hypertension, guanabentz (0.5-1.0 mu g/kg per min) was infused in SHR. 2. There were no differences in mean arterial pressure (MAP) variability (SD) of MAP of 24 h (MAP -- SD/MAP) and SD of 24 h heart rate (HR -- SD/HR) between SHR and NT. SAD did not elevate MAP and HR in both SHR and NT. 3. However, in SAD rats, MAP -- SD/MAP was significantly greater than those in sham-operated rats in both SHR and NT, while MAP -- SD/MAP and HR -- SD/HR did not show any difference between the two groups even after SAD. On the other hand, SAD did not augment HR -- SD/HR in either strain. 4. During guanabentz infusion, MAP was significantly lowered in sham-operated and SAD -- SHR. Moreover, MAP -- SD/MAP was significantly reduced in sham-operated, but it was not in SAD -- SHR. 5. These findings suggest that baroreflex could suppress tonically the diurnal change of blood pressure in NT and SHR. The regulation of diurnal blood pressure by baroreflex via a central alpha-adrenergic receptor system may be altered in SHR.