Objective To explore the effects of H 2 S on neuronal injuries induced by oxygen glucose deprivation /reoxygenation ( OGD/R) in cortical neurons .Methods For OGD, the primary cultured cortical neurons were incubated with glucose-free EBSS media for 4h in N2/CO2/O2 (93%/5%/2%) atmosphere.Thereafter, the media were replaced by Neurobasal/B27 culture media and the neurons were incubated for 12 h in a 5%CO2 incubator at 37℃.NaHS was used as a H2S donor and cell survival rate was determined by cell counting kit 8(CCk-8).[Ca2+]i was determined using fura-2/AM and fluorescence microscopic imaging systems .The release rate of lactate dehydrogenase ( LDH) was determined by lactate dehydrogenase assay kit , and cell damage was analyzed by staining of propidium iodide ( PI ) .Results After pretreated with 200, 300 and 600μmol/L sodium hydrosulfide ( NaHS) for 30min before OGD/R, the cell survival rate of neurons significantly increased (n=4).[Ca2+]I(n=5), LDH release rate (n=4) and cell damage percentage (n=6) in the neuron pretreated with 300 μM NaHS were significantly lower than those in ODG/R cells.Treatment with 10μmol/L calcium chelator BAPTA also reduced the LDH release rate and cell damage percentage induced by ODG /R in neurons . Conclusion The results indicate that H 2 S may inhibit the OGD/R induced damage in cortical neurons via reducing calcium overload of neurons .