Late-pregnant (18-20 days) and virgin rats were studied under anesthesia or while awake to investigate the effect of acute angiotensin II (ANG II) inhibition (with saralasin or captopril) on mean arterial blood pressure (AP) and renal hemodynamics. ANG II inhibition had no effect on AP in either anesthetized or awake virgin rats. Saralasin produced no effect on renal hemodynamics although with captopril small increases in renal plasma flow rate (RPF) and decreases in renal vascular resistance (RVR) occurred in virgins. In anesthetized pregnant rats, ANG II inhibition evoked marked decreases in AP. In some rats receiving saralasin, AP was only mildly depressed and RVR fell, leading to increases in glomerular filtration rate and RPF. In others, saralasin produced large decreases in AP, and indices of renal function became unmeasurable because of near cessation of urine flow. All late-pregnant anesthetized rats receiving captopril showed increased RPF irrespective of the magnitude of the fall in AP. In awake pregnant rats no effect on AP was seen with ANG II inhibition. Saralasin had no effect on renal hemodynamics although with captopril a small increase in RPF was observed. These data indicate that the stress of acute surgery and anesthesia produces a dependence of AP on ANG II in the pregnant but not the virgin rat. Under normal pregnant (awake) conditions, however, ANG II inhibition has no net effect on AP.