The action of a single intraperitoneal injection of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (1,25(OH)2D3) was investigated in thyroparathyroidectomized (TPTX) vitamin D-deficient phosphate-depleted rats. After 14 h, plasma inorganic phosphorus (Pi) was significantly greater in animals receiving 1,25(OH)2D3 than in D-deficient controls, but urinary Pi excretion was very low in both groups and not significantly different in the rats given 1,25(OH)2D3. Clearance studies indicated that the D-deficient controls reabsorbed more than 99% of their filtered Pi. Avid Pi reabsorption continued even after the infusion of sufficient phosphate to raise the plasma and filtered Pi to approximately 3 times normal. Fractional calcium excretion (FECa) exceeded fractional sodium excretion (FENa) by severalfold, but FECa decreased strikingly during phosphate infusion. In animals that manifested a substantial elevation of plasma Pi after 1,25(OH)2D3, FECa was significantly less than in D-deficient controls. Therefore, the increase in plasma Pi following 1,25(OH)2D3 administration occurs independently of any effect on renal Pi reabsorption and may be responsible, at least in part, for the amelioration of hypercalciuria after 1,25(OH)2D3 treatment.