Previous studies have shown that neuroiflament protein M expression is upregulated in the early stage of spinal cord ischemia/reperfusion injury, indicating that this protein may play a role in the injury process. In the present study, we compared protein expression in spinal cord tissue of rabbits after 25 minutes of ischemia followed by 0, 12, 24, or 48 hours of reperfusion with that of sham operated rabbits, using proteomic two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and mass spec-trometry. In addition, the nerve repair-related neurofilament protein M with the unregulated expression was detected with immunohistochemistry and west blot analysis. Two-dimen-sional gel electrophoresis and mass spectrometry showed that, compared with the sham group, upregulation of protein expression was most signiifcant in the spinal cords of rabbits that had undergone ischemia and 24 hours of reperfusion. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed that neuroiflament protein M was located in the membrane and cytoplasm of neuronal soma and axons at each time point after injury. West blot analysis showed that neuroiflament protein M expression increased with reperfusion time until it peaked at 24 hours and reted to baseline level after 48 hours. Furthermore, neuroiflament protein M is phosphorylated under oxidative stress, and expression changes were parallel for the phosphorylated and non-phosphorylated forms. Neurofilament protein M plays an important role in spinal cord ischemia/reperfusion injury, and its functions are achieved through oxidative phosphorylation.