Objective To investigate the effects of human recombinant hepatocyte growth factor(rh-HGF) on the expression of c-Met in intima of allograft vessels after cardiac transplantation in rats. Methods Heterotopic heart transplantation were established in abdominal cavity with eighty Wistar rats and forty SD rats. Donors’ cardiac grafts from Wistar rats were transplanted to SD rats(allograft) or Wistar rats(isograft).Sixty recipient rats were divided into three groups, control group：20 Wistar rats were injected with normal saline 1ml/kg·d intraperitoneally after transplantation; cyclosporine A (CsA) group:20 SD rats were injected with CsA 5mg/kg·d intraperitoneally on operation day; rhHGF group:20 SD rats were injected with rh-HGF 500μg/kg·d and CsA 5mg/kg·d intraperitoneally on operation day. The cardiac grafts were harvested at the 15th day and 60th day after transplantation. The crosssection of vascular tissues were used for immunohistochemistrical staining of c-Met, and investigated the expression of c-Met messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA ) in intima of allograft vessels by reverse transcriptionpolymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR). The pathologic changes of allograft coronary vessels were observed with histopathological method. Results The allograft coronary arteries showed minimal intimal thickening, the endothelium and internal elastic lamina remained almost intact in rh-HGF group after transplantation.The expression of c-Met and c-Met mRNA in intima of allograft vessels after transplantation in rhHGF group were significantly higher than those in CsA group and control group（expression of c-Met at 60d: 1.85±0.26 vs. 0.96±0.10, t=8.491,P=0.000;1.85±0.26 vs. 0.58±0.03, t=13.725,P=0.000; expression of c-Met mRNA at 60d: 192±0.22 vs. 0.88±0.07, t=11.940,P=0.000;1.92±0.22 vs. 0.42±0.02,t=19.206,P=0.000）. Conclusion rh-HGF may prevent the progression of cardiac allograft vasculopathy through upregulating the expression of c-Met to stimulate endothelial cell repair and growth.