The relationship between systemic arterial pressure (SAP) and neocortical microcirculatory blood-flow (CBF) in areas of focal cerebral ischemia was studied in 15 spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs) anesthetized with halothane (0.5%). Ischemia was induced by ipsilateral middle cerebral artery/common carotid artery occlusion and CBF was monitored continuously in the ischemic territory using laser-Doppler flowmetry during manipulation of SAP with I-norepinephrine (hypertension) or nitroprusside (hypotension). In eight SHRs not subjected to focal ischemia, we demonstrated that 0.5% halothane and the surgical manipulations did not impair autoregulation. Autoregulation was partly preserved in ischemic brain tissue with a CBF of greater than 30% of preocclusion values. In areas where ischemic CBF was less than 30% of preocclusion values, autoregulation was completely lost. Changes in SAP had a greater influence on CBF in tissue areas where CBF ranged from 15 to 30% of baseline (9% change in CBF with each 10% change in SAP) than in areas where CBF was less than 15% of baseline (6% change in CBF with each 10% change in SAP). These findings demonstrate that the relationship between CBF and SAP in areas of focal ischemia is highly dependent on the severity of ischemia. Autoregulation is lost in a gradual manner until CBF falls below 30% of normal. In areas without autoregulation, the slope of the CBF/SAP relationship is inversely related to the degree of ischemia.