Abstract: Objective To study the protective effect of selenium on membrane phospholipids in myocardial ischemia reperfusion injury(IRI)in rabbits.Methods Twenty-four rabbits were randomly divided into non-operation group,ischemia reperfusion group,and selenium group.The cardiac tissue was collected at 60 min reperfusion for determination of phospholipid(PL),cholesterol(Ch),phosphatidyl ethanolamine(PE),and cardiolipin(CL)content.Results Compared to nonoperation group,the contents of PL,PE,and CL in IRI group were significantly lower than in ischemia reperfusion group(P<0.05).The cotent of Ch in IRI group was significantly higher than in non-operation group(P<0.05).The contents of PL,PE,and CL in selenium group were significantly higher than those of IRI group(P<0.05).The cotent of Ch in selenium group was significantly lower than IRI group(P<0.05).Conclusion Selenium can protect membrane phospholipids in myocardial ischemia reperfusion injury in rabbits.