Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) was altered by varying renal perfusion pressure in volume-expanded, anesthetized dogs infused with ethacrynic acid. Phosphate reabsorption varied linearly with GFR (r greater than 0.9), 0.83 of the increase in filtered load being reabsorbed. Phosphate reabsorption at comparable filtered loads was not significantly changed by raising plasma bicarbonate concentration from 30 to 55 mM and adjusting PCO2 to keep plasma pH constant. Plasma pH was altered by inducing hyper- and hypocapnia or infusing bicarbonate. Plasma phosphate concentration varied with plasma pH before phosphate infusion and was kept constant at 3.4 +/- 0.1 mM in intact and thyroparathyroidectomized dogs; some of which were also examined during hyperchloremic acidosis. At comparable GFR, phosphate and bicarbonate reabsorption correlated (r greater than 0.9), except during acidosis when the filtered load of bicarbonate became inadequate. In all experiments phosphate reabsorption and plasma pH correlated (r greater than 0.85). Compared with control values at plasma pH 7.4, phosphate reabsorption increased by about 40% during acidosis (pH 7.1) and decreased by about 50% during alkalosis (pH 7.8) both in intact and thyroparathyroidectomized dogs. We propose that net hydrogen ion secretion is the common determinant of phosphate and bicarbonate reabsorption.