OBJECTIVE: To study the mechanism of rabbit lung injury caused by explosive decompression. METHODS: A total of 42 rabbits and 10 rats were served as the experimental animals. A slow recompression-decompression test and an explosive decompression test were applied to the animals, respectively. And the effects of the given tests on the animals were discussed. RESULTS: The slow recompression-decompression did not cause an obvious lung injury, but the explosive decompression did cause lung injuries in different degrees. The greater the decompression range was, the shorter the decompression duration was, and the heavier the lung injuries were. CONCLUSIONS: Explosive decompression can cause a similar lung injury as shock wave does. The primary mechanical causes of the lung injury might be a tensile strain or stress in the alveolar wall and the pulmonary surface's impacts on the inside wall of the chest.