Objective:To investigate the protective effect and possible mechanism of whisker stimulation on focal barrel cortex ischemia in rats. Methods: Eighteen male Sprague-Dawley rats, which had been trained to reach criteria by completing a whisker-dependent task, were randomly divided into groups of sham-operation, operation and whisker stimulation. The focal ischemia model of whisker-barrel cortex was established by ligating 2~3 branches of the right middle cerebral artery permanently under microscope. The left side whiskers of the whisker stimulation group were stimulated 3 days after ischemia. The vibrissal function of the three groups was evaluated each day after ischemia until rat reached the criteria again. Meanwhile, we record the needed numbers of trials for complete the task. Local cerebral blood flow was assessed by laser Doppler scanner, brain tissue changes were observed with HE staining, the expression of CD34 and microvessel density (MvD) was detected with immunohistochemistry method 14 d after ischemia. Results: Compared with the operation group, the whisker stimulation group significantly decreased the number of trials that required to reach criteria (P < 0.01), enhanced local cerebral blood flow (P < 0.01), detained the pathologic change of ischemic brain, increased the numbers of CD34 positive cells and also MvD (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Whisker stimulation had protective effects on focal barrel cortex ischemia in rats. One possible machanism may be that whisker stimulation can increase expression of CD34 and enhance local cerebral blood flow.