Abstract： Objective： To investigate the effect of curcumin on lung ischemia- reperfusion injury in aged rats based on nuclear factor E2-related factor 2(Nrf2)/antioxidant response element signaling pathway. Methods： A total of 60 clean Wistar aged rats were divided into three groups. The control group and the model group were intraperitoneally injected with 0.9% of sodium chloride(3 mL/kg) every day， and the curcumin group was intraperitoneally injected with curcumin every day. The injection lasted for seven days. Lung ischemia-reperfusion models were established in the model group and the curcumin group 60 minutes after the injection with corresponding drugs on the seventh day；lung tissue was then obtained to measure the lung/body weight ratio and lung injury scores as well as the mRNA and protein expressions of Nrf2 and heme oxygenase-1(HO-1)，and the levels of malondialdehyde(MDA)，superoxide dismutase(SOD)，nitric oxide(NO)， interleukin- 6(IL- 6)， interleukin- 2(IL- 2) and tumor necrosis factor- α(TNF- α) in lung tissue. Results：The lung/body weight ratio，the lung injury scores as well as the mRNA and protein expressions of Nrf2 and the expression levels of MDA，IL-6，NO，TNF-α and IL-2 in lung tissue in the model group were increased when compared with those in the control group(P＜0.05)， and the mRNA and protein expressions of HO- 1 as well as the expression level of SOD were decreased(P＜0.05)； the lung/body weight ratio， the lung injury scores as well as the mRNA and protein expressions of Nrf2 and the expression levels of MDA， IL- 6， NO， TNF- α and IL- 2 in lung tissue in the curcumin group were decreased when compared with those in the model group(P＜0.05)， and the mRNA and protein expressions of HO- 1 as well as the expression level of SOD were increased(P＜0.05). Conclusion： By inhibiting Nrf2 expression and activating anti-inflammatory and antioxidant pathways，curcumin decreases the levels of inflammatory factors and oxidative stress products，so as to play a protective role in aged rats with lung ischemia-reperfusion injury.