Abstract: Objective To investigate whether magnesium sulfate could protect kidney against ischemia/reperfusion(I/R)injury.Methods Kunming male mice were randomly divided into sham group and model group and treated with magnesium sulfate(120 mg/kg and 60 mg/kg).I/R were induced by occlusion of left renal pedicle for 45 minutes followed by a three hours of reperfusion except sham group.After the reperfusion,the blood samples were collected and blood urea nitrogen(BUN)and serum creatinine were measured for the evaluation of renal function.The content of malondialdehyde(MDA),superoxide dismutase(SOD)activity,and glutathione peroxidase(GSH-Px)activity in left kidney tissues were detected,and histological examination was carried out.Results Compared with the model group,renal dysfunction of the mice treated with magnesium sulfate was improved; the content of MDA in the kidney tissues was decreased and the activities of SOD and GSH-Px were increased.The changes in the biochemical parameters were associated with histological change of the kidneys,particularly in the high-dose magnesium sulfate group.Conclusion The findings suggest that magnesium sulfate has renal-protective effects on renal I/R injury in mice,which is probably related to inhibition of lipid peroxidation.