We have previously shown that Ins(1,3,4,5)P4 is degraded to Ins(1,4,5)P3 by a soluble Ins(1,3,4,5)P4 3-phosphatase from pig brain [Höer, Kwiatkowski, Seib, Rosenthal, Schultz & Oberdisse (1988) Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 154, 668-675]. Here we present some properties of this enzyme using [5-32P]Ins(1,3,4,5)P4 as substrate. The molecular mass, estimated by gel filtration chromatography on a Superose 6 column, was determined to be 36 kDa. The 3-phosphatase showed a high affinity towards the substrate Ins(1,3,4,5)P4 (Km approximately 400 nM); the Vmax. of the freshly prepared enzyme was 2 nmol/min per mg of protein. The influence of Ins(1,4,5)P3 and Ins(1,3,4)P3, the reaction products of Ins(1,3,4,5)P4 hydrolysis by either 3- or 5-phosphatase respectively, on the 3-phosphatase was tested. Both isomers inhibited the enzyme, with Ki values of about 2 microM and 1.75 microM for Ins(1,3,4)P3 and Ins(1,4,5)P3 respectively. Enzyme activity was not influenced by Mg2+ up to 30 mM or Ca2+ up to 1 mM. Commercially available Ins(3,4,5,6)P4 from turkey erythrocytes produced a marked inhibition of the 3-phosphatase (Ki approximately 500 nM). Significant inhibitory effects on enzyme activity were also found with GTP and the pyrimidine nucleotides UTP and CTP. The kinetic data presented here suggest that the Ins(1,3,4,5)P4 3-phosphatase may be regulated by the intracellular concentrations of inositol tris- and tetrakis-phosphates.