Objective  To observe the effect of edaravone on endogenous neural stem cells in rats with permanent cerebral ischemia.    Methods  The rat model of permanent cerebral ischemia was established by electrocoagulation. Thirty SD rats were randomly divided into three groups: sham operation group, brain injury group and edaravone group. Six hours after the establishment of the model, the edaravone group was intraperitoneally injected with 1.5 g/L edaravone (10 ml/kg) once a day. The sham operation group and the cerebral ischemia group were intraperitoneally injected with saline of equal volume for 7 days. 24 hours after the last administration, BrdU positive cells, Nestin/BrdU positive cells, neuronal class Ⅲ β-tubulin（Tuj1）/BrdU positive cells and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP)/BrdU positive cells were observed by immunofluorescent staining, Tuj1 and GFAP protein expressions were detected by Western blotting.    Results  Compared with the cerebral ischemia group, the BrdU positive cells, Nestin/BrdU positive cells, Tuj1/BrdU positive cells and GFAP/BrdU positive cells increased significantly in the infraventricular area and the cortex area around the ischemia in the edaravone group (P<0.05).Compared with the cerebral ischemia group, the expression of Tuj1 and GFAP protein in the cerebral cortex of edaravone group increased (P<0.05).    Conclusion  Edaravone can promote the proliferation of endogenous neural stem cells and astrocytes in the subventricular area and the cortex around ischemia, and promote the differentiation of endogenous neural stem cells into neurons.