SUMMARY Sodium (Na + ) and potassium (K + ) transport by the furosemide-sensitive Na + -K + transport system, the Na + -K + pump, and the cation leak(s) were studied in erythrocytes from DOCwater, DOC-salt, two-kidney, one clip (Sprague-Dawley), and spontaneously hypertensive rats (Wistar-Kyoto). Rubidium (Rb + ) was used as a tracer for K + . After 4 weeks of DOC-salt hypertension, inward K + (Rb + ) transport by the furosemide-sensitive system was increased threefold, and the inward Na + leak and the red cell Na + content were elevated by about 50%. The rise in cell Na + accelerated K + inward and Na + outward transport by the Na + -K + pump. DOC-water hypertension caused similar but less pronounced changes. In two-kidney, one clip hypertension, the Na + leak and the Na + -K + pump rates were slightly elevated, and furosemide-sensitive Rb + uptake tended to be increased. In spontaneously hypertensive rats, furosemide-sensitive Rb