To examine in detail the behavior of a new vortex shedding mode found in a previous investigation [Phys. Fluids 14, 3160 (2002)], a two-dimensional numerical study on the laminar incompressible flow past a rotating circular cylinder in the Reynolds number range 60≤Re≤200 and at rotational rates 0≤α≤6 was carried out. The results obtained clearly confirm the existence of the second shedding mode for the entire Reynolds number range investigated. A complete bifurcation diagram α(Re) was compiled defining both kind of shedding modes. The unsteady periodic flow in the second mode is characterized by a frequency much lower than that known for classical von Kármán vortex shedding of the first mode. The corresponding Strouhal number shows a strong dependence on the rotational velocity of the cylinder, while only a weak dependence is observed for the Reynolds number. Furthermore, the amplitudes of the fluctuating lift and drag coefficients are much larger than those characterizing classical vortex shedding behind nonrotating or slowly rotating cylinders. Additionally, negative values for the mean drag denoting thrust are found within the second shedding mode. © 2003 American Institute of Physics.