Danhong injection (DHI), a Chinese Materia Medica standardized product extracted from Radix Salviae miltiorrhizae and Flos Carthami tinctorii, is widely used in China for treating acute isch-emic stroke. In the present study, we explored the neuroprotective efifcacy of DHI in a rat model of temporary middle cerebral artery occlusion, and evaluated the potential mechanisms under-lying its effects. Pretreatment with DHI (0.9 and 1.8 mL/kg) resulted in a signiifcantly smaller infarct volume and better neurological scores than pretreatment with saline. Furthermore, DHI significantly reduced the permeability of the blood-brain barrier, increased occludin protein expression and decreased neutrophil inifltration, as well as profoundly suppressing the upreg-ulation of matrix metallopeptidase-9 expression seen in rats that had received vehicle. Matrix metallopeptidase-2 expression was not affected by ischemia or DHI. Moreover, DHI (1.8 mL/kg) administered 3 hours after the onset of ischemia also improved neurological scores and reduced infarct size. Our results indicate that the neuroprotective efifcacy of DHI in a rat model of ce-rebral ischemia-reperfusion injury is mediated by a protective effect on the blood-brain barrier and the reversal of neutrophil inifltration.