Objective To investigate the expression of granulysin ( GNLY) in lung of rats with acute lung injury ( ALI) stimulated with lipopolysaccharide ( LPS) . Methods Thirty-six healthy adult Wistar rats were randomly divided into a normal control group and a LPS group, with 18 rats in each group. LPS ( 4 mg/kg) was given intraperitoneally in the LPS group to induce ALI. The same amount of normal saline was given in the control group. The rats were randomly assigned to three subgroups ( n = 6) to be sacrificed respectively at 6, 18, and 30 hours after intraperitoneal injection. Wet/dry lung weight ratio ( W/D) and pathological changes of the lung were observed. The expression of GNLY in lung tissue was assayed by immunohistochemistry. Results In the LPS group, the W/D ratio was higher than that of the control group at each time point ( P lt;0. 05) and there were a large number of inflammatory cells infiltration and edema in interstitial spaces which suggested ALI. Compared with the control group, the expression of GNLY in the LPS group was significantly increased at all time points ( P lt;0. 05) . Conclusion GNLY may participate in ALI inflammatory process, which might play a role in preventing infection induced ALI.