Objective To establish a rat model of cardiac hypertrophy induced by isoproterenol(ISO),and to study its basic characteristics . Methods Cardiac hypertrophy was induced in rats with ISO. The model rats received subcutaneous injections of 5 mg/kg ISO every day for 14 days. Results The heart weight/body weight and left ventricular weight/body weight ratios in model rats were significantly increased. The serum hydroxyproline level was significantly increased ,the superoxide dismutase level was significantly decreased ,and the malondialdehyde level was sig?nificantly increased in model rats. Conclusion The rat model of cardiac hypertrophy is successfully created by subcutaneous injection of ISO for 14 days. This model can be used in study of the mechanism of cardiac hypertrophy.