Oxidative stress is believed to contribute to the neuronal damage induced by cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the possible antioxidant neuroprotective effect of hydroxyfullerene (a radical absorbing cage molecule) against neuronal death in hippocampal CA1 neurons following transient global cerebral ischemia in the rat. Transient global cerebral ischemia was induced in male Wistar rats by four vessel- occlusion (4VO) for 10 min. Lipid peroxidation in brain tissues was determined by measuring the concentrations of thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS). Furthermore, the apoptotic effects of ${H_2}{O_2}$ on PC12 cells were also investigated. Cell viabilities were measured using MTT [3-(4,5-dimethylthiazolyl-2)-2,-5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide] assays. Hydroxyfullerene, when administered to rats at 0.3-3 mg/kg i.p. at 0 and 90 minutes after 4-VO was found to significantly reduce CA1 neuron death by 72.4% on hippocampal CA1 neurons. Our findings suggest that hydroxyfullerene protects neurons from transient global cerebral injury in the rat hippocampus by reducing oxidative stress and lipid peroxidation levels, which contribute to apoptotic cell death.