Aim To investigate the axonal regeneration effect of salidroside in MCAO rats and its potential mechanism.Methods Thirty-six healthy adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into three groups: sham, MCAO, MCAO+Sal groups.The rats were subjected to focal cerebral ischemia/reperfusion with suture-occluded method.Neurological deficit testing was performed with Zea Longa scale.The protein expression of p-Akt(Ser473), Akt, p-GSK-3β(Ser9), GSK-3β, p-CRMP-2(Thr514) and CRMP-2 in side cerebral ischemic tissues were determined using Western blot analysis.NF200 immunofluorescence staining was used to evaluate axonal regeneration.Results Compared with MCAO group,salidroside significantly improved the neurological deficit,up-regulated the protein expression of NF200,p-Akt and p-GSK-3β,and inhibited the protein expression of p-CRMP-2.Conclusions Salidroside improves neurological function recovery after focal cerebral/ischemic injury in rats,which may be associated with the up-regulation of phosphorylated Akt and GSK-3β and inhibition of phosphorylated CRMP-2,thereby promoting axonal regeneration.