Abstract. Let R be a commutative ring with identity, X the set of all nonzero, nonunits of R and G the group of all units of R. We will investigate some ring theoretic properties of R by considering Γ(R), the zero-divisor graph of R, under the regular action on X by G as follows:(1) If R is a ring such that X is a union of a finite number of orbits under the regular action on X by G, then there is a vertex of Γ(R) which is adjacent to every other vertex in Γ(R) if and only if R is a local ring or R Z 2 × F where F is a field; (2) If R is a local ring such that X is a union of n distinct orbits under the regular action of G on X, then all ideals of R consist of {{0}, J, J 2 , . . . , J n , R} where J is the Jacobson radical of R; (3) If R is a ring such that X is a union of a finite number of orbits under the regular action on X by G, then the number of all ideals is finite and is greater than equal to the number of orbits.