The vasomotor effects of three peroxides (H2O2, cumene hydroperoxide, and t-butyl hydroperoxide) on the retinal vasculature, as well as the role of thromboxane in these effects, were studied using time-frame photography of isolated eyecup preparations from newborn and adult pigs. All three peroxides caused constriction of retinal arteries and veins, and these effects were greater in the newborn than in the adult. The cyclooxygenase inhibitor indomethacin, the thromboxane synthase blocker CGS-13080, and the thromboxane receptor blockers GR-32191B and L-670,596 inhibited the peroxide-induced vasoconstriction. The peroxides also increased thromboxane levels in the retina, and this increase was greater in newborn than in adult tissues. Both indomethacin and CGS-13080 prevented the peroxide-induced increase in retinal thromboxane. The thromboxane analogue U-46619 also produced constriction of newborn and adult retinal vessels, but its effects on the retinal veins of newborn pigs were less than those on adult veins. Data indicate an important role for increased production of thromboxane in the relative increase in the vasoconstrictor effects of peroxides on the newborn retinal vasculature. These findings suggest that the vasoconstriction and occlusion after oxidative stresses, which precede retinal neovascularization, are mediated by thromboxane.