To implicate the Ca2+-calmodulin-dependent protein kinase (CDPK) in the secretory response of pancreatic acinar cells to postnatal neurohumoral stimulation, we examined enzymatic protein kinase activity during pancreatic development. CDPK was investigated by measuring the phosphorylation of endogenous proteins and an exogenous substrate, synapsin I. Ca2+-calmodulin (CaM)-stimulated phosphorylation of endogenous proteins as well as synapsin I progressively increased in pancreatic supernatants from rats of increasing age. When compared with embryonic pancreas (1 day before birth), Ca2+-CaM-stimulated protein kinase activity increased two- and sixfold in neonatal (1 day after birth) and adult pancreas (60 days after birth), respectively, when normalized to protein content. To further characterize CDPK activity, soluble fractions prepared from embryonic, neonatal, and adult pancreas were separated by gel filtration chromatography. CDPK activities from embryonic and neonatal pancreas were contained in fractions of relative molecular weights (Mr) less than 200,000. In contrast, kinase activity from adult pancreas was predominantly comprised of a Mr approximately 550,000 species that coeluted with a type II CDPK. Increasing amounts of a Mr = 51,000 CaM-binding protein as a function of increasing age were consistent with the developmental appearance of the CaM-binding subunit of type II Ca2+-CaM-stimulated protein kinase. CaM levels increased in parallel with total Ca2+-CaM-stimulated protein kinase activity. Coordinate enhancement of type II CDPK activity and secretagogue responsiveness during pancreatic maturation may suggest a role for this enzyme in the secretory process.