The possible contribution of Ca²⁺-activated Cl channel [I_Cl(Ca)] and myosin light-chain kinase (MLCK) to nonadrenergic, noncholinergic slow inhibitory junction potentials (sIJP) was studied using conventional intracellular microelectrode recordings in circular smooth muscle of opossum esophageal body and guinea pig ileum perfused with Krebs solution containing atropine (3 µM), guanethidine (3 µM), and substance P (1 µM). In opossum esophageal circular smooth muscle, resting membrane potential (MP) was 51.9 ± 0.7 mV (n = 89) with MP fluctuations of 1-3 mV. A single square-wave nerve stimulation of 0.5 ms duration and 80 V induced a sIJP with amplitude of 6.3 ± 0.2 mV, half-amplitude duration of 635 ± 19 ms, and rebound depolarization amplitude of 2.4 ± 0.1 mV (n = 89). 9-Anthroic acid (A-9-C), niflumic acid (NFA), wortmannin, and 1-(5-chloronaphthalene-1-sulfonyl)-1H-hexahydro-1,4-diazepine (ML-9) abolished MP fluctuations, sIJP, and rebound depolarization in a concentration-dependent manner. A-9-C and NFA but not wortmannin and ML-9 hyperpolarized MP. In guinea pig ileal circular smooth muscle, nerve stimulation elicited an IJP composed of both fast (fIJP) and slow (sIJP) components, followed by rebound depolarization. NFA (200 µM) abolished sIJP and rebound depolarization but left the fIJP intact. These data suggest that in the tissues studied, activation of I_Cl(Ca), which requires MLCK, contributes to resting MP, and that closing of I_Cl(Ca) is responsible for sIJP.