Under simulated intracellular conditions (pH 7.2, 37 "C, 130 mM KC1, 20 mM NaCl and haemoglobin concentrations > 1.5 mM) the conditional association constants for the binding of ATP and 2,3-bisphosphoglycerate (P,-glycerate) to deoxygenated and oxygenated haemoglobin (Hb and HbO,, respectively) and the influence of Mg2+ on the binding of phosphocompounds were determined by means of a cation-sensitive electrode and ultrafiltration.The KIass for the binding of ATP to Hb is 2.6 mM-l and 0.36 mM-l for HbO,. P,-glycerate is bound to Hb with K a s s of 5 mM-l and to HbO, with a K',,, of 0.25 mM-l. The anions compete with each other in binding. Mg2+ is not bound to haemoglobin but it reduces the binding of the phosphocompounds by complexing with them. It decreases the shift of the oxygen binding curve produced by ATP. MgATP is weakly bound to Hb with a K a s s of 0.14 mM-l and to HbO, with a K'a,, of 0.039 mM-l. Binding of the Mg P,-glycerate complex to haemoglobin was not established.The calculated values for the dependence of p5,, (the partial pressure of oxygen a t half-satwation of haemoglobin) on the free concentration of P,-glycerate, based on the K a s s of Hb and HbO, complexes, agree well with the experimental data on erythrolysates and intact human red blood cells. The K'ass are furthermore an appropriate basis for the estimation of the intraerythrocatic state of Mg2+ and the metabolites.Haemoglobin binds polyvalent anions including the phosphometabolites in a reversible manner. The free concentrations of magnesium, nucleotidcs and of their complexes are influenced by binding. 2,3-Bisphosphoglycerate (P,-glycerate) which accounts for about half of the total acid-soluble phosphate in human erythrocytes [l], influences the concentration of free MgATP both by competition with ATP in the binding of haemoglobin and by complexing magnesium ions.Two phosphotransferases, e.g. hexokinase and phosphofructokinase, function as the main controlling enzymes in the glycolytic sequences of red blood cells 121. Magnesium -nucleotide complexes are substrates as well as modifiers of these enzymes. AnAbbreviations. P,-glycerate, 2,3-bisphosphoglycerate; HbO, oxygenated haemoglobin; Hb, deoxygenated haemoglobin; K,,,, association constant.Enzymes. Hcxokinase (EC 2.7