Objective To compare the influence of general anesthesia and spinal anesthesia on the mortality in rats with fat embolism.Methods Three hundred and seventy five rats were randomly assigned to receive general anesthesia （group GF,n=125）,spinal anesthesia （group SF,n=125）,or no anesthesia （group F,n=125）.Rats were injected with a half lethal dose of fat from caudal vein 20 min after anesthesia induction. The mortality was recorded at 2,8,12,and 24 h after fat injection,respectively.Results The mortality was lower in group GF than those in groups SF and F （P0.05）,while there was no statistical difference between group SF and group F.Conclusion The mortality in rats with fat embolism under general anesthesia was lower than that under spinal anesthesia.