Objective To observe the effects of different modes treadmill training on cognitive func-tion and transforming growth factor β1 ( TGF-β1 ) expression in cerebral cortex of rats. Methods Two months old rats were divided into the control group,piecewise training group and intermittent training group ( n=10 in each group) . The training was performed five times a week for 6 weeks. Learning and memory a-bility of all rats was detected by water maze at 6 weeks after the training. TGF-β1 expression and localization in cerebral cortex was tested by QRT-PCR and immunofluorescence, respectively. Results The platform time in piecewise group ((30±28) s) and intermittent group ((25±23)s) was both significantly shorter than that in control group ((58±50)s). In the space exploration,the time around Ⅳ quadrant platform in piecewise group((23.6±3.9)s) and intermittent group ((24.3±8.9)s) was significantly higher than that in the control group((17.7±2.0)s). The expression of TGF-β1 mRNA in cerebral cortex in intermittent group (0.0067±0.0043)was obviously higher than that in piecewise group (0.0035±0.0006) and control group (0.0041±0.001). TGF-β1 was located in cell membrane and cytoplasm,and the relative optical density of intermittent group (0.0045±0.0017) was significantly higher than that of control group (0.0019±0.0004) and staging group (0.00175±0.00045). Conclusion (1)Learning and memory function both were im-proved after treadmill six weeks with piecewise and intermittent training models. ( 2) The level of TGF-β1 gene and protein was significantly increased after interval training in cortex of rats.