The atrial natriuretic factor (ANF) receptor of bovine adrenal cortex was solubilized with Triton X-100 and purified by sequential chromatography on ANF-(99-126)-agarose, GTP-agarose, and wheat germ agglutinin-Sepharose. Two subtypes of ANF receptors were isolated, both of which showed specific ANF binding, whereas one of the ANF receptor subtypes also possessed significant cyclase activity. Both of the receptors showed high capacities (Bmax = 5.7-6.8 nmol/mg of protein) and high affinities (Kd = 54-68 pM) for ANF-(99-126). The cyclase-free receptor had high affinity (Ki = 150-220 pM) to C-terminal truncated ANF analogs, whereas the cyclase-containing receptor had a much weaker affinity (Ki = 10(6)-10(7) pM). When treated with dithiothreitol, the purified cyclase-containing and cyclase-free ANF receptors migrated as a single band at Mr 135,000 and 62,000, respectively, in sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The purified cyclase-free receptor is not a product derived from the cyclase-containing receptor because (i) two proteins with Mr of 135,000 and 62,000 were specifically labeled with 4-azidobenzoyl 125I-ANF-(102-126) in nonsolubilized intact membranes; (ii) the truncated ANF analogs (10(4) pM) prevented the photolabeling of the 62,000-dalton protein but not that of the 135,000-dalton protein; and (iii) two-dimensional peptide mapping showed more than 90% difference between the profiles of the two purified ANF receptor subtypes. This study provides first direct evidence for the existence of two distinct ANF receptors which are different not only in their pharmacological properties but also in their primary structure.