AIM: To develop a method for the determination of trans-resveratrol in rat plasma. METHODS: Plasma samples were performed on a reversed-phase column by gradient elution after liquid-liquid extraction. RESULTS: Good linearity (r= 0.9998) was obtained in the range of 0.0035- 1.400 mg?L -1 for trans-resveratrol, and the limit of quantitation (LOQ) was 0.035 mg?L -1. The average recovery was 103.0% and the RSD of intra-day and inter-day was less than 10%. This method was applied to the determination of resveratrol in rat plasma and the pharmacokinetical parameters were calculated as follows: t 1/2= 11.5 min, t max= 10.0 min,and C max= 1.93 mg?L -1. CONCLUSION: A reliable RP-HPLC method for resveratol determination is developed, and appropriate for the determination of resveratrol in rat plasma.