Myocardial taurine level was found to be greater in the rat than in the guinea-pig. Taurine inhibited the development of arrhythmias caused by the i.v. infusion of ouabain in the rat. When ouabain induced arrhythmias, the myocardial taurine level decreased. Both effects were blocked by pretreatment of propranolol. The uptake of taurine into the heart did not necessarily result in the reversal of the PR interval prolonged by ouabain. The protecting effect of taurine against ouabain toxicity was not dependent upon the change in myocardial total ATPase activity.