This article reports a kinetic study of the nitrosation of morpholine (MOR) by the nitroprusside ion. [Fe(CN)5NO]2-, to form N-nitrosomorpholine, a substance of proven carcinogenicity. The reaction is of order one with respect to the nitroprusside ion and order two with respect to morpholine. The influence of the pH and the ionic strength of the medium on the rate of reaction has been studied in detail. A reaction mechanism is proposed whose first step is a fast reaction between the amine and the coordinated nitrosyl group to form a complex which reaches equilibrium with the reagents and then reacts with another molecule of amine to produce the corresponding nitrosamine and the complex (Fe(CN)5MOR]3 -.The nitrosation of methylurea has been studied under catalysis by acetate and mono-, di-and trichloroacetate buffers. The following general equation for the rate of reaction as a function of the total concentrations of the reagents has been deduced: v = [MU] [nit] [H+Iz K , [nit] + E K , + [H'] K , + [H']Ki + [H+l where K , is the acidity constant of nitrous acid and K2 that of carboxylic acid. The catalysis observed has been found to be due to the organic anions, and Brpnsted relation is obeyed with / 3 = Oi24. -The experimental results have been interpreted in terms of a reaction mechanism which features the rapid formation of a intermediate, MeNH(NO)CONH,, when the methylurea is nitrosated. The rate controlling step is the transfer of a proton from this intermediate to the solvent or to a basic catalyst (the nitrite ion or the organic anion). That it is this step that controls the overall rate of reaction is supported by the isotopic effect ( k , / k , = 3.5) observed on carrying out kinetic measurements in D,O.