To observe the effects of cervical-lymphatic blockade (CLB) on brain edema and infarction volume of ischemic (MCAO) rat, we examined changes in cerebral water content, Ca(superscript 2+) and glutamate concentrations, cerebral infarction volume and mRNA expression levels of N-methyl-D-aspartame receptor 1 (NMDA receptor 1) in the ischemic (left) hemisphere. The present results demonstrated that all the above indices in rats with middle cerebral artery occlusion plus cervical lymphatic blockade (MCAO+CLB) were markedly higher than those with only middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) at different time points. These results indicate that CLB can aggravate cerebral ischemia by increasing brain edema and infarction volume.