Polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNLs), nitric oxide (NO), calcium, and free radicals play an important role in hypoxia/ischemia and reoxygenation injury. In the present study, NO donors, sodium nitroprusside (SNP), and diethylamine-NO (DEA-NO) at low concentrations (10 and 100 nmol/L) potentiated, while higher (10 μmol/L to 10 mmol/L) concentrations inhibited free radical generation response in the rat PMNLs. Free radical generation response was found to be significantly augmented when hypoxic PMNLs were reoxygenated (hypoxia-reoxygenation [H-R]). This increase in free radical generation after reoxygenation or SNP (10 nmol/L) was blocked in the absence of extracellular calcium. SNP (10 nmol/L) or H-R–mediated increases in the free radical generation were prevented by the pretreatment of PMNLs with NO scavenger (hemoglobin), the polyadenine diphosphate (ADP)-ribosylation synthase inhibitor (benzamide) or the calcium channel antagonist (felodipine). A significant augmentation in the nitrite and intracellular calcium levels was observed during hypoxia. Hemoglobin pretreatment also blocked the increase in intracellular calcium levels due to SNP (10 nmol/L) or hypoxia. Thus, increased availability of NO during SNP treatment or H-R, may have led to an ADP-ribosylation–mediated increase in intracellular calcium, thereby increasing the free radical generation from the rat PMNLs.