Objective:To establish an animal model of hind limb ischemic preconditioning (RIPC) and to study the protective effect of remote ischemic preconditioning on renal ischemic reperfusion injury in rats. Methods:A total of 48 healthy Sprague Dawley rats were subjected to right nephrectomy,and then randomly divided into four groups:the sham operation (Sham),the simple hind limb ischemic preconditioning group (LIP),the simple renal ischemia reperfusion group (IR),and the hind limb ischemic preconditioning－renal ischemia reperfusion group (LIP－IR). After 24 h of reperfusion,serum creatinine (Scr) and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) were tested,pathological changes of renal tissues were observed,renal tissues were collected for the determination of NO and TNOS,iNOS and cNOS activity. Results:The level of Scr and BUN and the renal tubule injury score,and the activity of TNOS and iNOS in the kidney tissues were significantly decreased in the LIP－IR group as compared with those in the IR group (P < 0.05),but the level of NO and the activity of cNOS in the kidney tissues were significantly increased (P < 0.05). Compared with the sham group,the above indicators in the LIP group have no significant difference (P > 0.05). Conclusion:Limb ischemic preconditioning can protect kidney from ischemic reperfusion injury. The protection may be related to the increased expression of eNOS as well as the reduced expression of iNOS in the kidney.