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Purpose: We aimed to determine the effect of muscle metaboreflex activation in forearm skeletal muscles on intercostal muscle blood flow. Methods: Seventeen healthy subjects performed a static handgrip exercise at 30% of maximum voluntary contraction for 2 min and was followed by 2 min of forearm circulatory arrest to selectively activate the muscle metaboreflex. The post exercise muscle ischemia was not performed in control condition. Respiratory rate and minute ventilation were fed back to the subjects to ensure that they were equivalent in both conditions. We measured the blood flow index (BFI) of the intercostal muscles at the midaxillary line of the seventh intercostal space using diffuse correlation spectroscopy. Results and Discussion: During the muscle metaboreflex activation by the post exercise muscle ischemia, BFI and mean arterial blood pressure were significantly higher compared to control conditions, with no difference in vascular resistance (mean arterial blood pressure / BFI). These results demonstrate that the activation of muscle metaboreflex in forearm skeletal muscles does not cause vasoconstriction in intercostal muscles and increases intercostal muscle blood flow via increasing arterial blood pressure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]