Objective：To test the hepatoprotective effects of puerarin on brain death rats. Methods：The male SD rats were randomly divided into 3 groups: brain death group (brain death models were established using progressive intracranial compression methods), puerarin treated group (rats were treated with puerarin after brain death was established) and sham-operated group (rats underwent sham operation without brain death insult). Blood and liver samples of the rats were harvested at 2 h and 4 h after brain death to measure the serum levels of ALT, AST, TNF-α and IL-6, and to examine morphological changes of liver, respectively. Results：The serum levels of ALT, AST, TNF-α and IL-6 were significantly increased in both brain death group and puerarin treated group compared with sham-operated group (both P＜0.05). The above parameters showed progressive increase in both brain death group and puerarin treated group compared with themselves at the different time points (both P＜0.05). However, the above parameters in puerarin treated group were significantly lower than those in brain death group at the same time point (P＜0.05). The pathological examination demonstrated that the liver tissues were damaged to different extents in both brain death group and puerarin treated group, but the injuries in puerarin treated group were remarkably milder than those in brain death group. Conclusions：Puerarin has hepatoprotective effects on rats after brain death.