The Chinese herbal formulaTongluo Jiunao, containing the active componentsPanax notogin-seng andGardenia jasminoides, has recently been patented and is in use clinically. It is known to be neuroprotective in cerebral ischemia, but the underlying pathway remains poorly understood. In the present study, we established a rat model of cerebral ischemia by occlusion of the middle cerebral artery, and administeredTongluo Jiunao, a positive control (Xuesai Tong, containing Panax notoginseng) or saline intraperitoneally to investigate the pathway involved in the action ofTongluo Jiunao injection. 2,3,5-Triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC) staining showed that the cerebral infarct area was signiifcantly smaller in model rats that receivedTongluo Jiunao than in those that received saline. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay revealed significantly greater expression of neurotrophin 3 and growth-associated protein 43 in ischemic cerebral tissue, and serum levels of neurotrophin 3, in theTongluo Jiunao group than in the saline group. The reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemical staining showed that after treatment withTongluo Jiunao orXuesai Tong, tropomyosin-related kinase C gene expression and immunoreactivity were signiifcantly elevated compared with saline, with the greatest expression observed afterTongluo Jiunao treatment. These ifndings suggest thatTongluo Jiunao injection exerts a neuroprotective effect in rats with cerebral ischemia by activating the neurotrophin 3/tropomyosin-related kinase C pathway.