In land-dwelling animals, it is an intermediary metabolite in nitrogen disposal through the urea cycle and the synthesis of pyrimidines.

Its enzymatic counterpart, carbamoyl phosphate synthetase I (CPS I), interacts with a class of molecules called sirtuins, NAD dependent protein deacetylases, and ATP to form carbamoyl phosphate.

Carbamoyl phosphate is a metabolic intermediate in a pathway that involves nitrogen disposal through the urea cycle and the biosynthesis of pyrimidines.

[1] It is produced from bicarbonate, ammonia (derived from amino acids), and phosphate (from ATP).

[2] This uses three reactions as follows: A defect in the CPS I enzyme, and a subsequent deficiency in the production of carbamoyl phosphate has been linked to hyperammonemia in humans.