The present study aimed to observe the effects of DSS on ischernia-reperfusion brain injury and analyze the mechanism of neuronal apoptosis.The male SD rats were made into focal ischemia by middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) and were treated with different doses of DSS except those in the control group and model group which were injected with NS by the similar way preoperatively.Brain tissue was removed when occluded for 1 h followed by 24 h reperfusion.Then the expression of Bcl-2, Bax, Caspase-3 were detected by immunohistochemical method and neuronal apoptosis were detected by TUNEL staining.The result showed that DSS significantly inhibited the expression of Bax and Caspase-3 in brain, but enhanced the expression of Bcl2, and the number of apoptotic cells in groups which were treated by DSS were reduced when compared to those in the control group and the model group at corresponding areas.These findings suggest that DSS can exert a neuroprotective effect on cerebral ischemia-reperfusion by inhibiting apoptosis.