Protein kinase activity was examined in supernatants from super-sensitive and subsensitive rat pineal glands both in the presence and absence of added cAMP. After a 20 min exposure to 1-isoproterenol, in vivo or in organ culture, supersensitive pineals displayed a greater decrease in protein kinase activity (in the absence of added cAMP) than did subsensitive glands. Furthermore, exposure of rats to 24 h light, a procedure which produces a supersensitive response to beta-adrenergic stimulation, results in a 50% increase in protein kinase activity (with or without added cAMP) as compared to the activity in pineals obtained after 12 h darkness, when the glands are subsensitive. Kinetic analysis revealed a 50-100% increase in the Vmax for ATP, histone, and cAMP. This increase in protein kinase was not prevented by prior treatment of rats with cycloheximide. The diminished kinase activity in subsensitive glands did not appear to be due to an increase in the heat-stable protein kinase inhibitor. Protein kinase activity also increased (in the presence or absence of added cAMP) after noradrenergic input to the gland was reduced by denervation or depletion of neurotransmitter. Thus, pineal protein kinase may participate in the effects of beta-adrenergic agonists (e.g. the induction of serotonin N-acetyltransferase) and in the regulation of the sensitivity of the gland to beta-adrenergic stimulation.