Eyewitnesses said a 22-year-old protester died on Monday of bullet wounds in his back in the village of Daih, a suburb of Manama, dpa reported.
Two other protesters were said to be in critical condition after also sustaining gunshot injuries, the report added.
Police used tear gas to disperse hundreds of pro-democracy protesters in several villages of Shia Muslim majority on the same day, the interior ministry and witnesses said.
Women, elderly people and a paramedic were among those who had required hospitalization by early evening.
It was not immediately clear how many had gunshot injuries, but sources estimated it to be at least five. Others suffered broken bones and injuries related to rubber bullets and teargas inhalation.
Bahraini security forces were deployed in force along the main routes into Manama in an effort to prevent a gathering that had been arranged on the Internet in the wake of the rise of pro-democracy protests around the Arab world.
Activists, inspired by revolutions in Egypt and Tunisia, dubbed Monday “the Day of Rage” to express disappointment at the political reforms of the past decade, which have failed to bring prosperity and real change.
The majority Shia population in Bahrain has been complaining about inequality and oppression. The government has been clamping down on the opposition since the country's controversial general elections in August last year.
Since late Sunday, Bahrain's security forces have been patrolling shopping centers and other locations to monitor people's movements amid calls by opposition groups for pro-democracy protests.
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