Our aim was to determine whether metabolic clearance, renal clearance, or both elimination pathways contribute to ethnic differences in tizanidine clearance, which is ~ 2-fold higher in Caucasians than in Asians. The pharmacokinetic parameters of tizanidine in 9 healthy male Japanese subjects were compared with those of Caucasians in previous studies. Metabolic clearance of tizanidine was lower in Japanese than in Caucasian subjects (5.9 vs. 8.1 - 10.9 l/h/kg), although renal clearances were similar (0.040 vs. 0.047 - 0.055 l/h/kg). The results suggest that ethnic differences in tizanidine clearance are due to differences in metabolic clearance.