Ischemia and reperfusion(I/R) injury can cause complications in applying blood flow treatment for atherosclerosis occlusion syndrome. Platelet activation and inflammatory reaction play a role in the procession of I/R injury. This study was designed to investigate the effects of Salvianolic Acid A(SAA) on limb I/R injury via inhibition of platelet activation and inflammatory reaction. Rats were divided into sham, I/R, I/R+SAA-Low (5mg/kg) and I/R+SAA-high (10mg/kg) groups with a procession of 6h for ischemia and 24h for reperfusion in the femoral artery of the right hind limb, with the exception of the sham group. SAA was injected into the right jugular vein before reperfusion. Reperfusion recovery was monitored by Laser Doppler. HE staining, electron microscopy examination and MDA were used to evaluate the I/R injury. ELISA, Western Blot and RT-PCR were used to measure the levels of P-selectin, IL-8(KC), ICAM-1, TNF-α, IL-1β, CK and NF-κB in plasma or tissues. Pretreatment with SAA attenuated skeletal muscle edema and mitochondria changes, and decreased the levels of MDA and CK. Meanwhile, there was significant reduction of P-selectin, KC, ICAM-1, TNF-α, IL-1β and NF-κB with treatment of SAA. Pretreatment with SAA may attenuate the I/R injury in the skeletal muscle tissues of rats via inhibition of platelet activation and inflammatory reaction.