Abstract： Objective： To discuss the regulation of astragaloside IV on nuclear factor erythroid 2- related factor(Nrf2) /heme oxygenase - 1(HO- 1) signaling pathway and its protective effect on acute kidney injury(AKI) induced by cisplatin. Methods： Rats were divided into the control group， the model group， and the astragaloside IV groups of low- dose，medium- dose and high- dose according to the random number table method， 10 rats in each group. Except the control group， AKI models were established by single intraperitoneal injection with 7 mg/kg of cisplatin in the other groups. The astragaloside IV groups of low- dose， medium- dose and high- dose were respectively given 5， 10 and 20 mg/kg of astragaloside IV injection，and the model group and the control group were given saline. The pathological changes of the kidney tissue were observed by HE staining； the contents of serum creatinine(SCr) and blood urea nitrogen(BUN) were measured；the activity of glutathione peroxidase(GSH-Px) and superoxide dismutase(SOD) and the content of malondialdehyde (MDA) in the kidney tissue were detected；the expression levels of protein and mRNA of Nrf2 and HO-1 were detected by Western blot and reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction(RT- PCR) respectively. Results： Compared with those in the control group， the pathological changes of the kidney tissue in the model group were more significant， with tubular necrosis and degenerative changes. Compared with that in the model group，the degree of pathological changes in the kidney tissue was decreased in the astragaloside IV groups of low-dose，medium-dose and high-dose，and the high-dose group had the most obvious decrease. Compared with those in the control group，in the model group，the contents of SCr and BUN in serum were significantly increased(P＜0.05)； the activities of GSH- Px and SOD in the kidney tissue were significantly decreased(P＜0.05)；the content of MDA was significantly increased(P＜0.05)；the relative expression levels of protein and mRNA of Nrf2 and HO-1 were significantly decreased(P＜0.05). Compared with those in the model group，in the astragaloside IV groups of low-dose，medium-dose and high-dose，the contents of SCr and BUN in serum were significantly decreased (P＜0.05)；the activities of GSH-Px and SOD in the kidney tissue were significantly increased(P＜0.05)；the content of MDA was significantly decreased(P＜0.05)；the relative expression levels of protein and mRNA of Nrf2 and HO-1 were significantly increased(P＜0.05). The contents of SCr and BUN in serum in the astragaloside IV group of high- dose were significantly decreased when compared with those in the astragaloside IV group of low-dose(P＜0.05)，and the relative expression levels of protein and mRNA of Nrf2 and HO- 1 were significantly increased(P＜0.05). Conclusion：Astragaloside IV has significant protective effect on the kidney tissue in rats with AKI induced by cisplatin through regulating Nrf2/HO-1 signaling pathway.