Deficits in attention disengagement are reported as a unique feature of autism. Previous studies suggested that the superior colliculus (SC) plays an important role in attention, and are involved in autism. However, no previous studies investigated neuronal responses in the SC during attention disengagement. To investigate this issue, we recorded rat SC neuronal activity during performance of an attention shift task with and without disengagement.In this task, conditioned stimuli (CSs) (right and/or left light flash, or sound) were sequentially presented, and rats were required to lick a spout when a newconditioned stimulus appeared(reward trials) to obtain an intracranial self-stimulation (ICSS) reward. In the disengagement reward trials, configural stimuli consisting of a new stimulus and old stimulus in the former trials were presented, while only a new stimulus was presented in the non-disengagement reward trials. Of the 186 SC neurons responding to the CSs, 41 showed stronger responses to the CSs requiring attention disengagement than those to other CSs (disengagement-related neurons). Furthermore, lick latencies were negatively correlated with response magnitudes to CSs requiring disengagement in most disengagement-related neurons. This type of the SC neurons was located mainly in the deeper layers. Another 70 neurons responded to the CSs in both disengagement and non-disengagement trials, suggesting that these neurons were involved in attention shift. The present results provide first neurophysiological evidence that the SC, especially the deep layers, plays an important role in attention disengagement and might be involved in pathology of autism.