Objective To study the effect of acanthopanax senticosus saponins (ASS) on expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and nerve growth factor (NGF) in rat spinal cord after spinal cord injury, so as to explore the protective effect of ASS against spinal cord injury. Methods A total of 45 male rats were evenly randomized into three groups: sham operation group, model group and ASS intervention group. The experimental animals were anesthetized with 10% chloral hydrate and then acute spinal cord injury model was made using modified Allen's method. After modeling the sham group received normal feeding, the model group was intraperitoneally given normal saline for 7 consecutive days, and the ASS intervention group was given appropriate dose of ASS for 7 consecutive days. Then ELISA was used to detect the serum malondialdehyde (MDA) and superoxide dismutase (SOD); the pathological changes of spinal cord tissue were observed, and the expression of BDNF and NGF was examined by Western blotting analysis. Results Compared with the sham group, the other two groups had significantly increased serum MDA (P<0.05) and significantly decreased SOD level (P<0.05), with notable spinal cord injury; besides, the two groups also had significantly increased expression of BDNF and NGF protein in the spinal cord tissue (P<0.05). Compared with the model group, ASS group had significantly improved spinal cord injury, with significantly decreased serum MDA content (P<0.05) and increased SOD content and BDNF, NGF expression in the spinal cord tissue (P<0.05). Conclusion ASS can promote BDNF and NGF protein expression in neurons of spinal cord, improving repair of damaged neurons and protecting spinal cord against acute injury in rats.