Objective: To investigete the therapeutic effect of glycyrrhizin on severe acute pancreatitis (SAP) in rats. Methods: Rats were equally randomized into sham operation group, SAP group and SAP plus glycyrrhizin treatment group (treatment group). The SAP model was induced by retrograde cholangiopancreatic duct injection of 5% sodium taurocholate. The postoperative survival time and the serum levels of amylase, IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α, as well as the pathological scores of pancreatic tissue of each group at the predefined time points after surgery were determined and compared. Results: No death occurred in the sham operation group during the observation period, while the average survival time of the SAP group and treatment group was (28.50±17.82) and (41.50±17.59) hours respectively, and the difference between them had statistical significance (P<0.05). Compared with the sham operation group, the serum levels of amylase, TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6 of the SAP group and treatment group at each observation point were all significantly increased (all P<0.05), but the elevated levels of the above parameters in the treatment group were all significantly lower than those in the SAP group (all P<0.05). Except for the sham operation group, both the SAP group and treatment group presented the pathological features of SAP, but to a different extent; the pathological change in the treatment group was relatively mild and its pathological scores at each time points were also significantly lower than those of the SAP group (all P<0.05). Conclusion: Glycyrrhizin has a definite therapeutic effect on SAP in rats.