AIM: To confirm the differential expression genes in the rat ischemic brain. METHODS: The middle cerebral artery occlusion ischemic model was set up in rats. Fluorescence differential display reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (FDD RT-PCR) and reverse Northern blotting were used to fast confirm the differential expression genes. RESULTS: Nine differential expression sequence tags, including 6 known sequences and 3 unknown sequences, were confirmed. Among the known sequences, mus musculus ab1-interactor1,homo sapiens CGI-99 protein, tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 3 and homosapiens nuclear receptor co-repressor were up-regulated while homo-sapiens nuclear matrix protein p84 and coatomer protein complex, subunit gamma 2 were down-regulated. CONCLUSIONS: ① Combination of fluorescence differential display reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (FDD RT-PCR) and reverse Northern blotting is a method to fast-confirm the differential expression genes; ② There are differential expression genes in ischemic brain regions compared to non-ischemic parts. [