To localize and characterize the regulatory nucleotide site of skeletal muscle sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase, we have investigated the effects of ADP, ATP, and analogues of these nucleotides on the rate of dephosphorylation of both native ATPase and ATPase modified with fluorescein 5'-isothiocyanate (FITC), a reagent which hinders access of nucleotides to the ATPase catalytic site without affecting phosphorylation from Pi. Dephosphorylation of the phosphoenzyme formed from Pi was monitored by rapid filtration or stopped-flow fluorescence, mostly at 20 degrees C, pH 6.0, and in the absence of potassium. Fluorescence measurements were made possible through the use of 8-bromo-ATP, which selectively quenched certain tryptophan residues of the ATPase, thereby allowing the intrinsic fluorescence changes associated with dephosphorylation to be measured in the presence of bound nucleotide. ATP, 8-bromo-ATP, and trinitrophenyladenosine diand triphosphate, but not ADP, enhanced the rate of dephosphorylation of native ATPase 2-3-fold when added in the absence of divalent cations. Millimolar concentrations of Mg2+ eliminated the accelerating effects. Acceleration in the absence of Mg2+ was observed at relatively low concentrations of ATP and 8-bromo-ATP (0.01-0.1 mM) and binding of metal-free ATP and ADP, but not Mg.ATP, to the phosphoenzyme in this concentration range was demonstrated directly. Modification of the ATPase with FITC blocked nucleotide binding in the submillimolar concentration range and eliminated the nucleotide-induced acceleration of dephosphorylation. These results show that dephosphorylation, under these conditions, is regulated by ATP but not by Mg.ATP or ADP, and that the catalytic site is the locus of this "regulatory" ATP binding site.