AIM: To study the relationship between nitric oxide (NO) and gastric mucosal injury induced by reserpine in rats. METHODS: Sixteen healthy male Wistar rats were randomly divided into control group and experimental group (n=8). NO contents and malondialdehyde(MDA) contents in plasma, gastric mucosa of the rats were respectively determined with Cadmium-reduct plus Greiss and TBA; nitric oxide synthase in gastric walls of the rats were observed using NADPH-diaphorase histochemistry and quantitatively measured with image analyzer.RESULTS: The NO contents in both plasma and gastric mucosa of experimental group were significantly lower than that in control group (P