Recently, we reported (korean J. Biomed. Lab. Sci., 6(4): 245-251, 2000) that cyclohexane (l.56 g/kg of body wt., i.p.) administration led to lung injury in rats. However the detailed mechanism remain to be elucidated. This study was designed to clarify the mechanism of lung damage induced by cyclohexane in rats. First, lung damage was assessed by quantifying bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BAL) protein content as well us by histopathological examination. Second, activities of serum xanthine oxidase (XO), pulmonary XO and oxygen free radical scavenging enzymes. XO tope conversion (O/D + O, %) ratio and content of reduced glutathione (GSH) were determined. In the histopathological findings, the vasodilation, local edema and hemorrhage were demonstrated in alveoli of lung. And vascular lumens filled with lipid droplets, increased macrophages in luminal margin and increased fibroblast-like interstitial cells in interstitial space were observed in electron micrographs. The introperitoneal treatment of cyclohexane dramatically increased BAL protein by 21-fold compared with control. Cyclohexane administration to rats led to a significant rise of serum and pulmonary XO activities and O/D + O ratio by 47%,30% and 24%, respectively, compared witれ control. Furthermore, activities of pulmonary oxygen free radical scavenging enzymes such as superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase and glutathione S-transferase, and GSH content were not found to be statistically different between control and cyclohexane-treated rats. These results indicate that intraperitoneal injection of cyclohexane to rats may induce the lipid embolism in pulmonary blood vessel and lead to the hypoxia with the ensuing of oxygen free radical generation, and which may be responsible for the pulmonary injury.