Effects of coadministration of probenecid on pharmacokinetic behaviors of famotidine, an H2-receptor antagonist, after oral administration, were studied in eight young, healthy volunteers. They received an oral 20 mg dose of famotidine with and without coadministration of oral 1500 mg doses of probenecid. The mean area under the serum famotidine concentration-time curve up to 10 hours was increased by coadministration of probenecid from 424 +/- 19 (SEM) to 768 +/- 39 ng.hr/ml. The mean urinary excretion rate of unchanged famotidine, the mean amount of unchanged famotidine excreted in urine up to 24 hours and mean renal clearance were decreased by coadministration of probenecid. The mean tubular secretion clearance of famotidine was decreased from 196.2 +/- 21.4 to 22.0 +/- 4.2 ml/min. These data suggest that probenecid, which is a classical inhibitor of renal tubular secretion of organic anions, inhibits the renal tubular secretion of famotidine, which exists partly in a cationic form under physiological pH conditions.