Objective To investigate the neuroprotective effect of resveratrol on ischemic stroke in rats and its mechanism. Methods 75 healthy male SD rats of clean grade were divided into control group， model group， low dose of resveratrol（10 mg/kg）， middle dose of resveratrol（20 mg/kg） and high dose of resveratrol（30 mg/kg）. The neurological impairment score， cerebral infarction volume， water content of brain tissue were compared after modeling. The expression of p53 and Notch1 protein in brain tissue. Results Resveratrol significantly decreased the neurological impairment score of ischemic stroke rats （P<0.05）， and decreased the neurological impairment score with the increase of resveratrol concentration （P<0.05）. The volume of cerebral infarction and water content of brain tissue in each operation group were significantly higher than those in sham operation group（P<0.05）， while the volume of cerebral infarction and water content of brain tissue in resveratrol groups were significantly lower than those in model group（P<0.05）， and the volume of cerebral infarction and water content of brain tissue were significantly decreased with the increase of resveratrol concentration（P<0.05）. The expression of p53 and Notch1 protein in brain tissue of rats in each operation group was significantly higher than that in sham operation group（P<0.05）， and the expression of p53 and Notch1 protein in resveratrol group was significantly lower than that in model group（P<0.05）， and the expression of p53 and Notch1 protein in brain tissue of rats with resveratrol concentration increased significantly（P<0.05）. Conclusion Resveratrol has significant neuroprotective effect on ischemic stroke rats， and can effectively improve the area of cerebral infarction and the degree of cerebral edema in rats. The neuroprotective mechanism may be related to the inhibition of resveratrol on p53-mediated apoptosis pathway and Notch1-mediated inflammatory response pathway.