For the first time, the catalytic activity of nifedipine (NID) was studied at the surface of a modified electrode which prepared by immobilization of Ag nanoparticles (AgNPs) at the surface of glassy carbon electrode. Ag nanoparticles with diameters between 40 and 70 nm were prepared by electrochemical method using calix[4]arene as a template. Preparation of this electrode was simple and modified electrode showed an excellent character for electrocatalytic reduction of nifedipine. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images of the modified electrode were studied. Using differential pulse voltammetry (DPV), under the selected conditions, the cathodic peak currents increased linearly in the NID concentration range of 0.8-60.0 mu M and the detection limit for NID was found to be 0.72 mu M. The NID contents of commercial samples of pharmaceuticals and human urine samples were successfully determined using standard addition method by the modified electrode. The studies on NID recovery from these samples gave values of 98-103%. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.