Abstract: Objective: To explore the protective effects of resveratrol (Res) on focal cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury in rats. Methods: One hundred and fifty Sprague-Dawley male rats were randomly divided into sham group,model group,low dose group,middle dose group and high dose group. Each group was 30 animals. The middle cerebral artery was occluded for 90 min by a nylon thread and then reperfused to cause transient focal cerebral ischemia. The rats were intraperitoneally injected with 3 doses of Res(10,30,60 mg/kg) about 1 h after ischemia-reperfusion as low,middle,and high dose group,respectively. Twenty-four hours after reperfusion,the infarct volume was showed with 2,3,5-triphenyl tetrazolium chloride staining. The water content was calculated with dry-wet weight method. Seven days after reperfusion,the brains of each group rats were cut in slices for HE staining. Results: The infarct volume and neurological score in each Res groups were lower than those in model group(P < 0.05-P < 0.01). The water content in ischemia side brain in each Res groups was also lower than that in model group(P < 0.01). The abnormal pyramidal neurons of hippocampus CA1 area in middle dose group were less than that in low dose group (P < 0.05),but the neurons of dentate gyrus were no significant differences in each groups. Conclusions: The results suggest that Res has the neuroprotective effect on focal cerebral ischemiareperfusion injury rats,and the 30 mg/kg dose of Res has the best therapeutic efficacy.