The involvement of cyclic guanosine 3′,5′‐monophosphate (cGMP) and cGMP‐dependent protein kinase (PKG) and their interaction with the Ca²⁺‐dependent mechanisms in the regulation of ciliary activity are not well understood. To investigate how cGMP regulates ciliary activity, changes in ciliary beat frequency (CBF) and intracellular calcium concentration ([Ca²⁺]_i) of rabbit tracheal ciliated cells in response to 8‐bromo‐cGMP (Br‐cGMP) were simultaneously quantified using digital, high‐speed phase‐contrast and fluorescence imaging. Br‐cGMP induced a response in ciliary activity that could be separated into two parts. Firstly, Br‐cGMP induced a concentration‐dependent increase in the basal CBF that occurred without increasing the [Ca²⁺]_i. This response was not affected by excessively buffering the [Ca²⁺]_i with BAPTA but was abolished by KT5823, a PKG inhibitor. Secondly, Br‐cGMP induced a series of transient increases in CBF that were superimposed on the sustained increases in CBF. These transient increases in CBF correlated with the stimulation of a series of transient increases in [Ca²⁺]_i and were abolished by BAPTA, but were unaffected by KT5823. The magnitude of the transient increases in CBF and [Ca²⁺]_i were not dependent on the concentration of Br‐cGMP. The Ca²⁺‐dependent changes in CBF induced by ionomycin or ATP were not affected by KT5823. From these results, we propose that cGMP increases CBF in two ways: firstly through a Ca²⁺‐independent mechanism involving PKG, and secondly through a Ca²⁺‐dependent mechanism following the stimulation of changes in [Ca²⁺]_i. In addition, we suggest that the Ca²⁺‐dependent stimulation of rabbit airway ciliary activity does not initially require PKG activation.