To study the preventive and curative effect of sodium aescinate (SA) on postoperative intestinal adhesion. Methods: SD rats were subjected to operation for establishing intestinal adhesion models, then they were randomly divided into 4 groups (n=10), namely normal group, model group, positive group (given Dexamethasone, i.v. 5 mg/kg) and SA group (i.v.2 mg/kg). Drugs were given one time before operation and continuous 3 days after operation. Seven days after operation, all of rats were killed, and the intestinal adhesion was graded and the tissues were observed through optical microscope. Based on the experimental study, 80 patients after abdominal surgeries were divided into drug group and control group so as to observe the clinical therapeutic effect of SA (i.v.). Results: SA evidently reduced the severity of postoperative adhesion in rats (P<0.05), and relieved the tissue inflammation. Clinical observation showed that the symptoms, abdominal pain and distension, flatus-defecation, intestinal obstruction, were much better relieved in the drug group treated with SA than those in the control group (P<0.05). Conclusion: SA could inhibit the formation of postoperative intestinal adhesion effectively.