We surveyed rabbit brain cytosol for a new Ca2+/calmodulin (CaM)-dependent kinase. The renaturation blotting assay (RBA) exploits the ability of blotted SDS-denatured proteins to regain enzymic activity after guanidine treatment. Using RBA, we found that the eluate of rabbit brain cytosol from a CaM affinity column contains at least four electrophoretically distinct protein kinase bands which were autophosphorylated in a Ca2+/CaM-dependent manner. The 49 kDa band and the 60 kDa band were alpha and beta subunit of CaM kinase II, and the 42 kDa band was presumed to be CaM kinase I, but the 80 kDa band could not be attributed to any reported Ca2+/CaM-dependent protein kinases. The 80 kDa protein kinase was isolated by three-step chromatography. We examined the phosphorylation of exogenous substrates by 80 kDa protein kinase, and histone IIIs and myosin light chain were phosphorylated in a Ca2+/CaM-dependent manner. W-7, a specific inhibitor for calmodulin, inhibited this kinase activity, but KN-62, a specific inhibitor for CaM kinase II, had no effect on this protein kinase activity. Autoradiography using boiled rabbit brain homogenate as substrate showed three intrinsic substrates (80 kDa, 60 kDa and 42 kDa), which were phosphorylated in a Ca2+/CaM-dependent manner. These findings suggest that a new Ca2+/CaM-dependent protein kinase could be identified by the RBA.