Objective: Spinal cord ischemia/reperfusion injury (I/R injury) with resulting paraplegia is a devastating complication of thoracoabdominal aortic surgery and corrective surgery for spinal deformities.The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of hydrogen-rich saline, which has been reported to selectively reduce the hydroxyl radicals in ischemia/reperfusion injuries, on the protection of spinal injury induced by spinal ischemia/reperfusion in rabbits.Material And Methods: Twenty four male New Zealand white rabbits were randomly divided into three groups: sham operated group (SHAM, n=8) underwent only the surgical exposure of infrarenal aorta.FR group (I/R, n=8) received 5 ml/kg normal saline intraperitoneally at the onset of reperfusion.Hydrogen-rich saline treated I/R group (H2-saline, n=8) received 5 ml/kg hydrogen-rich saline intraperitoneally at the onset of reperfusion.Spinal ischemia/reperfusion injury was induced by infrarenal aortic occlusion for 40 minutes and followed by reperfusion.The motor function of hind limbs was evaluated using the Tarlovs score at 6, 12, 24, 48 hours after reperfusion.Immediately after the last neurological scoring, the spinal cords (L3-L5) of all animals were harvested for histopathological and biochemical studies where the levels of malondialdehyde, glutathione-peroxidase, superoxide dismutase, and catalase were measured as indicators of ischemia level.Results: 48h after reperfusion, H2-saline group showed better neurologic function, a greater number of intact motor neuron cells, and a smaller number of infiltrating cells in the ventral horn than I/R group.And treatment with hydrogen-rich saline significantly decreased malondialdehyde, glutathione-peroxidase, superoxide dismutase, and catalase levels in comparison with the control group.Conclusion: This study showed neuroprotective effects of hydrogen-rich saline on spinal cord ischemia/reperfusion injury through selective reduction of hydroxyl radicals, and suggested hydrogen-rich saline has potentials in the clinical treatment of spinal cord ischemia/reperfusion injury and other ischemia-related neurological diseases.