Objective To investigate the effects of thiopental on expression of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) and content of TNF-α and IL-1β in the lungs induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) .Methods Twenty-four male Kunming mice weighing 15-25 g were randomly divided into 4 groups (n = 6 each) : I control group received intraperitoneal (i.p.) normal saline (NS) 1 ml·kg-1 ; Ⅱ LPS group received i.p. LPS 5 mg·kg-1 ; Ⅲ LPS + thiopental (TH) received intrapentoneal TH 60 mg·kg-1 20 min after i.p. LPS 5 mg·kg-1 and Ⅳ TH group received i.p. TH 60 mg·kg-1 alone. The animals were bled to death at 3 h after LPS administration. The lungs were immediately removed for determination of expression of NF-κB p65 (Western blot) and TNF-α and IL-1β content (ELISA) in the lung. Results The expression of NF-κB p65 was significantly increased and the level of TNF-α and IL-1β in the lungs were significantly increased after LPS stimulation as compared with control group ( P < 0.05). Posttreatment with thiopental attenuated the LPS-induced changes ( P< 0.05 ) . Conclusion Thiopental posttreatment can attenuate the changes in NF-κB expression and TNF-α and IL-1β content in the lung induced by LPS.