Objective To evaluate the effects of ethyl gallate (EG ) on sepsis-induced acute lung injury (ALI) in rats .Methods Forty-eight healthy male Wistar rats ,aged 10-12 weeks ,weighing 150-250 g ,were randomly divided into 3 groups (n=16 each) using a random number table :control group (group C) ,group ALI , and group EG .The animals were anesthetized with intraperitoneal pentobarbital sodium 50 mg/kg .Sepsis was induced by cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) .EG 1 ml/h (50 mg·kg-1 ·h-1 ) was infused intravenously via the femoral vein for 4 h starting from 6 h after CLP in group EG .The equal volume of normal saline was given instead in group ALI . The rats were sacrificed at 10 and 24 h after CLP (T1 ,2 ) , and the lungs were removed for determination of wet/dry lung weight ratio (W/D ratio ) , superoxide dismutase (SOD ) activity , contents of malondialdehyde (MDA ) and glutathione (GSH ) , and 3-NT expression (by immuno-histochemistry ) in lung tissues .The pathological changes of the lung were examined with light microscope .Results Compared with group C ,the W/D ratio ,MDA content and 3-NT expression were significantly increased and GSH content was decreased at T1 ,2 ,the SOD activity was significantly decreased at T2 in group ALI ,and the MDA content and 3-NT expression were increased at T1 ,and the W/D ratio ,MDA content and 3-NT expression were increased and GSH content was decreased at T2 in group EG ( P<0.05) .Compared with group ALI ,the MDA content was significantly decreased at T1 ,and the W/D ratio ,MDA content and 3-NT expression were decreased ,and GSH content and SOD activity were increased at T2 in group EG ( P<0.05) .The pathological changes of the lung were obvious in group ALI , and significantly attenuated in group EG .Conclusion EG can attenuate sepsis-induced ALI by antioxidative effects in rats .