Abstract: Objective To investigate the protective effect of PXR in CCl4-induced liver injury in rat. Methods Forty eight Sprague-Dawley male rats were randomly divided into four groups: control group (without treatment); model group, which was treated with CCl4 to induce liver injury; empty vector group, which was intravenously injected with lentiviral vector three days before liver injury; PXR recombinant lentivirus group was intravenously injected with PXR recombinant lentivirus three days before liver injury. The degree of liver injury was evaluated by HE staining and levels of serum AST and ALT. The expression of PXR, NF-κB, IL-1, IL-2 and TNF-α in liver were assayed by RT-PCR and Western blot. Results After intravenous injection with PXR recombinant lentivirus, fibrosis and serum AST and ALT in rat with liver injury reduced significantly. The expression of PXR in liver increased significantly. On the contrary, the expression of NF-κB, IL-1, IL-2 and TNF-α in liver decreased significantly. Conclusions PXR plays a protective role in CCl4-induced liver injury in rat. It may through inhibit the expression of NF-κB, further to down-regulate the expression of IL-1, IL-2 and TNF-α, which provides a new way for treatment of liver injury.