Using45Ca, indol, and quin2, calcium uptake was measured in isolated quiescent adult rat heart cells under different metabolic conditions. Exposure of cells in a medium containing 1 mM CaCl2 to rotenone and uncoupler resulted in adenosine triphosphatc (ATP) depletion from 17.08 ± 2.26 to 0.63 ± 0.11 nmol/mg within 8 minutes, and the cells went into contracture. In this time, the cells lost 1.65 ± 0.1 nmol Ca/mg of total rapidly exchangeable cellular calcium, and the level of free cytosolic calcium as measured by indol rose from 47.4 ± 16.3 nM to 79.8 ± 27.6 nM. The subsequent rate of rise of intracellular free calcium concentration was just 4 nM/min for at least 40 minutes. Therefore, we investigated the effect of ATP depletion on the rate of calcium entry. In cells loaded with sodium by ouabain treatment without calcium, the initial rate of calcium influx on calcium addition was inhibited by 82–84% when cellular ATP was depleted, as measured by 45Ca or indol. Quin2 also showed a strong inhibition of calcium influx by ATP depletion, but itself also caused a strong inhibition of calcium influx. The rate of calcium influx declined even further in ATP-depleted cells after the initial influx: Between 1 and 12 minutes after calcium addition, the residual 45Ca uptake rate of the first minute was inhibited by an additional 90%. We conclude that ATP depletion per se does not quickly elevate cytoplasmic free calcium and that such an elevation is prevented by a very strong inhibition of the rate of calcium entry.