Background: Direct laryngoscopy & tracheal intubation for general anesthesia often provoke a marked sympathetic response. Such sympathetic response may be inconsequential in healthy patients but detrimental to those with ischemic heart disease or increased intracranial pressure. Metbods: Cardiovascular parameters after sublinguial administration of nifedipine(nifedipine group, n=13) were compared with parameters which derived from not administred nifedipine(control group, n=15), before administration of nifedipine, 5 minutes after adminitration, immediately before and after intubation, 2.5, 5, 7.5, 10 minutes following intubation. And the muscle twitch, clinical degree of muscular relaxation of intubation condition, the arterial blood gas analysis & electrolyte were measured. Results: 1) The times to 75% and 100% twitch depression of vecuronium and clinical degree of muscle relaxation of intubation condition were no differences in both groups. 2) In both group, heart rate increased immediatly after intubation and thereafter decreased. But it was higher than basal value until 10 minutes after intubation in nifedipine group. 3) Systolic and diastolic arterial pressure increased significantly in both groups and these were decreased significantly in nifedipine group. 4) At arterial blood gas analysis, pH increased significantly and PaCO₂ decreased at 15 minutes after nifedipine administration in both groups, compared to basal value. 5) There were no significant differences in electrolyte (Na+, K+, Ca++) values between two groups. Conclusions: In healthy adult patients, rise in the arterial blood pressure after tracheal mtubation decreased effectively with subligual nifedipine but nifedipine may produce excessive myocardial depression in patient with preexisting left ventricular dysfunction. (Korean J Anesthesiol 1996; 30: 668 -675)