The effect of captopril up to 450 mg/day on blood pressure and renal function were investigated during sustained treatment of 10 patients whose severe hypertension had not responded to previous therapy. All the patients were kept on diuretics and most of them on beta-blockers, too. A control determination of glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and para-aminohippuric acid clearance (CPAH) was performed during the prior treatment. The effect of the addition (or substitution) of captopril were assessed after an average of 25 days (short-term) and 26 weeks (long-term). Short-term treatment produced a 15.5% decrease in mean blood pressure and interindividually variable effects on renal function. On average GFR was somewhat lower and CPAH slightly higher than the control values (not significant). This pattern is quite similar to the effects of most other antihypertensive drugs. On long-term therapy GFR rose by a mean of 9% (NS) and CPAH by 17% (p less than 0.02). However, in a patient who developed a captopril-induced nephrotic syndrome, GFR dropped to 56% and CPAH to 50% of the control values. In another patient a transient rise in serum creatinine accompanied a severe drug reaction.