Objective To explore the effect of heat shock protein 70(HSP70) on remifentanil-post-treatment-induced hepatic ischemia-reperfusion injury (HIRI) in rats. Methods Twenty-four Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into four groups( n = 6 ): sham-operation group (group S), HIRI group ( group I/R) , remifentanil group(group R) and quercetin group (group Q).Rat HIRI model was prepared. In Group R, remifentanil 4 ug·kg-1 was given at the beginning of reperfusion within 10 minutes. In group Q, quercetin 7 mg·kg-1 was given before remifentanil treatment. The activities of serum alanine transaminase(ALT) and aspartate transaminase(AST) were measured after reperfusion, and the activity of superoxide dismutase(SOD) , the content of malondialdehyde (MDA ) and HSP70 in liver tissue were measured. Results Compared with group S,?serum ALT and AST activity , liver MDA and HSP70 content were increased in the other three groups, while SOD activity in group I/R and group Q were decreased and that in group R was increased ( P<0.05) .Compared with group I/R, serum ALT,AST activity and MDA content in group R were decreased, while liver SOD activity and HSP70 content were increased( P<0.05). Conclusion Remifentanil post-treatment can attenuate the acute liver injury induced by HIRI and inhibit the lipid peroxidation response, which is related to increasing the expression of HSP70 in liver.