BACKGROUND Renal ischemia/reperfusion (I/R)-induced tubular epithelial cell injury, called ischemic acute renal failure, is associated with high mortality in humans. Protecting the kidney against I/R injury is very important during complicated renal operations, transplantation surgery, and anesthesia. Aim. The purpose of this study was to investigate and compare the efficiency of ketamine, thiopental, propofol, etomidate, and intralipid in reducing the injury induced by free radicals in a rat model of renal I/R. METHODS Forty-two Wistar rats were divided into seven groups in our study. Rats in the sham group underwent laparotomy and waited for 120 minutes (min) without ischemia. Rats in the control group were given nothing with ischemia-reperfusion. Rats in the I/R groups were given ketamine (20 mg/kg), thiopental (20 mg/kg) propofol (25 mg/kg), etomidate (10 mg/kg) and 10% intralipid (250 mg/kg) intraperitoneally 15 min prior to the ischemia for 60 min, followed by reperfusion for 60 min. The blood samples and kidney tissues of the rats were obtained under anesthesia at the end of the reperfusion period. Biochemical malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), creatine (Cr), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) were determined, and histopathological analysis was performed with these samples. RESULTS MDA level was increased significantly in the control group (p < 0.05). Histopathological findings of the control group confirmed that there was renal impairment by tubular cell swelling, interstitial edema, medullary congestion, and tubular dilatation. MDA levels were lower in the ketamine, thiopental, and propofol groups compared to the control group (p < 0.05). In the thiopental and propofol groups, the levels of histopathological scores were significantly lower than control and etomidate groups in ischemia-reperfusion. CONCLUSIONS Our results demonstrated that I/R injury was significantly reduced in the presence of propofol and thiopental. The protective effects of these drugs may belong to their antioxidant properties. These results may indicate that propofol and thiopental anesthesia protects against functional, biochemical, and morphological damage better than control in renal I/R injury.