BACKGROUND: Embryonic stem cells and mesenchymal stem cells are two main cell sources for stem cell transplantation in the treatment of acute lung injury. There are few reports on the study of autologous induced pluripotent stem cells in the treatment of acute lung injury. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the possibility of induced pluripotent stem cells derived from autologous dermal fibroblasts injected through the caudal vein in the treatment of acute lung injury in rats. METHODS: Twenty-four Sprague-Dawley rats (provided by Beijing Vital River Laboratory Animal Technology Co., Ltd.) were randomly divided into three groups. The control group was intraperitoneally injected with normal saline, and the model group and the experimental group were intraperitoneally injected with lipopolysaccharide to make acute lung injury models in rats. At 24 hours after modeling, phosphate buffer solution was injected into the tail vein of the rats in the control and model groups, while the rats in the experimental group were given induced pluripotent stem cell suspension by the tail vein. The changes of lung tissue morphology, lung wet/dry weight ratio, pathological injury score, serum interleukin 1beta, interleukin 6 and tumor necrosis factor alpha levels were observed at 7 days after treatment. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: (1) At 7 days after treatment, pulmonary interstitial edema, alveolar septum thickening, inflammatory cell infiltration, capillary congestion, irregular alveolar morphology, and exudate in the alveolar cavity were significantly improved in the experimental group. (2) At 7 days after treatment, the wet/dry weight ratio of lung tissue in the model and experimental groups was significantly higher than that in the control group, but the wet/dry weight ratio of lung tissue and pathological injury score in the experimental group were significantly lower than those in the model group (P < 0.01). (3) At 7 days after treatment, the levels of serum interleukin 1beta, interleukin 6 and tumor necrosis factor alpha were ranked as follows: model group> experimental group> control group, and there were significant differences between groups (P < 0.01). To conclude, the transplantation of induced pluripotent stem cells derived from autologous dermal fibroblasts can effectively alleviate acute lung injury and reduce serum inflammatory factor levels in rats.