Abstract: Objective To investigate the effect of Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase(PARP) in heart ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury in rats.Methods Forty - eight rats were divided into 4 groups randomly.3,4 -dihydro-5- [ 4- ( 1 -piperidinyl) butoxy ] - 1 ( 2H ) - isoquinolinone ( DPQ ),an inhibitor of PARP,was used to inhibit the expression of PARP in rat's heart.The expression of PARP,heart infarct size,heart function,and apoptosis of the cardiomyocytes were detected of different groups of the rats.Results The expression of PARP increased in rat heart I/R injury.Mter DPQ was used,the expression of PARP decreased significantly(5.04 ± 1.25 vs 2.33 ± 0.65,t =1.35,P < 0.05 ) ; inhibition of the expression of PARP improved the cardiac function; inhibition of the expression of PARP decreased cells apoptosis from (34 ± 6.2) % to (323 ± 3.8) % ( t =2.25,P < 0.05).Conclusions The expression of PARP increased in rat heart I/R injury.Inhibition of the expression of PARP could protect the heart from I/R injury.