Objective：To observe the effect of lithium chloride on neuronal apoptosis and GSK-3β of hippocampal CA1 area after transient focal cerebral ischemia／reperfusion in rats. Methods：126 male SD rats were randomly divided into normal group（NO group）,sham operation group（SH group），ischemia／reperfusion group（IR group）， Li1 group, Li2 group,and Li3 group． The change of neuronal apoptosis in the CA 1 region was examined by Hoechst staining. The expression and distribution of GSK-3β and p-GSK-3β（Ser9） in the cell was examined by immunofluorescence analysis. Results：The apoptotic nuclei could be detected significantly in IR groups（compared with SH group, P < 0.01）. Compared to IR group, Li groups dose dependently（1～3 mmol／kg） reduced the apoptotic nuclei in happocampal CA1 area. There was no visible difference among the total amounts of GSK-3β in each group（P > 0.05）. P-GSK-3β（Ser9）increased significantly after reperfusion（P < 0.01）. Lithium chloride treatment can dose dependently increase the expression of p-GSK-3β（Ser9）（compared with IR groups, P < 0.01）. Conclusion：Lithium chloride can dose dependently suppress neuronal apoptosis and GSK-3β ｅｘｐｒｅｓｓｉｏｎ after MCAO／ reperfusion.