Key points The transient receptor potential vanilloid type 1 (TRPV1) receptor is a polymodal molecular integrator in the pain pathway expressed in Aδ‐ and C‐fibre nociceptors and is responsible for the thermal hyperalgesia associated with inflammatory pain. Noradrenaline strongly inhibited the activity of TRPV1 channels in dorsal root ganglia neurons. The effect of noradrenaline was reproduced by clonidine and antagonized by yohimbine, consistent with contribution of α2 adrenergic receptors. The inhibitory effect of noradrenaline on TRPV1 channels was dependent on calcium influx and linked to calcium/calmodulin‐dependent protein kinase II. In spinal cord slices, clonidine reduced the frequency of capsaicin‐induced miniature EPSCs in the presence of tetrodotoxin and ω‐conotoxin‐MVIIC, consistent with inhibition of presynaptic TRPV1 channels by α2 adrenergic receptors. We suggest that modulation of presynaptic TRPV1 channels in nociceptive neurons by descending noradrenergic inputs may constitute a mechanism for noradrenaline to modulate incoming noxious stimuli in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord. Abstract The transient receptor potential vanilloid type 1 (TRPV1) receptor is a well‐known contributor to nociceptor excitability. To address whether noradrenaline can down‐regulate TRPV1 channel activity in nociceptors and reduce their synaptic transmission, the effects of noradrenaline and clonidine were tested on the capsaicin‐activated current recorded from acutely dissociated small diameter (<27 μm) dorsal root ganglia (DRG) neurons and on miniature (m)EPSCs recorded from large lamina I neurons in horizontal spinal cord slices. Noradrenaline or clonidine inhibited the capsaicin‐activated current by ∼60%, and the effect was reversed by yohimbine, confirming that it was mediated by activation of α2 adrenergic receptors. Similarly, clonidine reduced the frequency of capsaicin‐induced mEPSCs by ∼60%. Inhibition of capsaicin‐activated current by noradrenaline was mediated by GTP binding proteins, and was highly dependent on calcium influx. The inhibitory effect of noradrenaline on the capsaicin‐activated current was not affected either by blocking the activity of protein kinase A with H89, or by blocking the activity of protein kinase C with bisindolylmaleimide II. In contrast, when the calcium/calmodulin‐dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) was blocked with KN‐93, the inhibitory effect of noradrenaline on the capsaicin‐activated current was greatly reduced, suggesting that activation of adrenergic receptors in DRG neurons is preferentially linked to CaMKII activity. We suggest that modulation of TRPV1 channels by noradrenaline in nociceptive neurons is a mechanism whereby noradrenaline may suppress incoming noxious stimuli at the primary synaptic afferents in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord.