Objective：To observe the effect of artesunate on pathological changes and inflammatory factors induced by glucocorticoid in guinea pig models. Methods：Thirty male guinea pigs were used 0.05% clobetasol propionate solution continuously on the shaved belly areas for 30 days to establish guinea pig models of steroid-induced dermatitis. They were randomly and equally divided into 5 groups：model groups were intraperitoneal injected with 0.9% sodium chloride solution，treatment groups were intraperitoneal injected with 5，10 and 20 mg/kg artesunate solution separately，glucocorticoid receptor blocking groups were intraperitoneal injected with mifepristone，and 6 guinea pigs only external used with 75% ethanol solution on shaving back as blank control groups. Pathological changes in skin tissue of each group were observed. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay（ELISA）was perfomed to detect the content of IL-1 and IL-4 in the serum of each group. The expressions of GRα mRNA and TNF-α mRNA in the skin of each group were detected by RT-PCR. Results：The levels of IL-1 and IL-4 in the serum of model groups were significantly higher than those in the blank control groups and the glucocorticoid receptor blocked groups. The levels of IL-1 and IL-4 in the serum of artesunate groups were lower than those in the model group（P < 0.05）. There was no significant difference between the treatment groups. There was no significant difference in the expression of GRa mRNA in the skin tissues of guinea pigs. The TNF-α mRNA content in the skin tissue of the model group was higher than that in the blank control group and the glucocorticoid receptor blocked group（P < 0.05）. The content of TNF-α mRNA in the skin tissue of the high dose and middle dose group of artesunate was lower than that of the model group（P < 0.05）. There was no significant difference in TNF-α mRNA between the middle dose artesunate group and the high dose arteunate group. Conclusion：Artesunate can inhibit steroid dermatitis in guinea pig models，especially the middle and high dose artesunate，which may associate with IL-1，IL-4 and TNF-α，and the mechanism needs to be further studied.