Objective To study the effect of hydrogen-containing preservation solution against oxidative stress and inflammatory damage of rat donor heart.Methods Thirty-two SD rats were evenly randomized into four groups(n=8): control group (the hearts were protected by HTK solution), H1 group (hydrogen concentration was about 0.2 mmol/L in the HTK solution), H2 group (hydrogen concentration was about 0.4 mmol/L in the HTK solution) and H3 group (hydrogen concentration was about 0.8 mmol/L in the HTK solution). The rat hearts were harvested in all groups and were mounted on the Langendorff apparatus to estimate baseline hemodynamic values. All the hearts underwent hypothermic (4℃) storage for 6 h in the corresponding cardioprotective solutions. Then, superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities and malondiadehyd (MDA) contents in myocardium tissues were measured after reperfusion by xanthine oxidase method and TBA method, respectively. The levels of 8-hydroxydeoxygunosine, TNF-α, and IL-6 in the myocardium tissues were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results The MDA levels in H1, H2, and H3 groups were lower than that in the control group 6 h after preservation (P<0.01 or P<0.05), and the SOD activities in H2, H3 groups were higher than that in the control group (P<0.01 or P<0.05). The levels of 8-hydroxydeoxygunosine, TNF-α, and IL-6 in the control group were higher than those in H1, H2, and H3 groups (P<0.01 or P<0.05). Conclusion Hydrogen-containing preservation solution can relieve the oxidative damage and reduce production of inflammation factors during preservation of rat donor heart.