Abstract: Objective To investigate the effects and mechanism of Buyang Huanwu Decoction combined with edaravone on protecting the brain of mice with cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury. Methods The middle cerebral artery occlusion/reperfusion model was established by the improved intraluminal filament technique in mice.The 90 mice were randomly divided into five groups(each group 18):sham operation group;model group;BYHWD group(10 ml/kg,ig);ED group(3 mg/kg,iv);BYHWD+ED group (BYHWD 10 ml/kg,ig+ED 3 mg/kg,iv).Seven days after the administration of drugs,the differences of neurologic impairment score on 1,3 and 7 d were observed.On 7 d,the cerebral infarction volume was determined using TTC staining.Apoptotic cells were quantified with TUNEL method.The positive cells of bcl-2,bax and caspase-3 were detected by immunohistochemistry method.The data between groups was compared with one-way analysis of variance;the comparison between 2 groups was with t test.P value<0.05 was accepted as statistically significant. Results On 1,3 and 7 d,the neurological deficit score had decreased over time.On the same time,the model group had the highest score,the combination group had the lowest score(P<0.01).On 7 d,the infarction volume percentage of combination group reduced than the single group(P<0.01);drug groups could reduce apoptosis cells(P<0.05);increase the number of bcl-2 expressed cells,reduce the number of bax and caspase-3 expressed positive cells,the change trend of combination group was more obvious than others(P<0.05). Conclusion The combination of Buyang Huanwu decoction and edaravone has a better protective effect on cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury through the modulation of related factor of mitochondrial apoptosis pathway.