It was found that an increase in fluorescence intensity at 340 nm is observed on the binding of Streptomyces subtilisin inhibitor (SSI) with subtilisin BPN' in the pH range 6--10. The dissociation constant, Ki, of the enzyme-inhibitor complex was determined as a function of pH and temperature by direct fluorometric titration utilizing the single photon counting technique in the protein concentration range of 10(-9) M. Ki values as low as 10(-10) M could be obtained with reasonable accuracy by this high-sensitivity detection method. From the temperature dependence of Ki, it was found that the binding is endothermic, and is entirely "entropy-driven" in nature. The effect of pH on Ki suggested the participation of an ionizable group with pKapp = 8.5 in the binding.