Ｏｂｊｅｃｔｉｖｅ　To investigate the effects and mechanism of nalmefene on early memory in rats.　Methods　Aged rats were randomly allocated to the following naive group(group I0), abdominal surgery alone group(group I1), intramuscular injection of nalmefene after surgery group(group N)(n=12). The concentration of IL-1β, TNF-α and caspase-3 of brain were measured by ELISA. Rats′ memory was assessed in fear conditioning test.　Results　Compared with that of group I0, the expression of TNF-α[(38.3±2.3), (29.4±2.5) ng/L vs (21.4±2.1) ng/L], IL-1β[(31.6±3.3), (21.2±2.0) ng/L vs (14.2±2.9) ng/L] and caspase-3 [(109±10), (86±9) ng/L vs (65±8) ng/L] in group I1 and group N rats′ brain were enhanced(P<0.01), the freezing time in group I1 and group N rats were declined(P<0.01). Compared with that of group I1, the expression of TNF-α, IL-1β in group N rats′ brain were declined(P<0.01) and the freezing time in group N rats were rised(P<0.01).　Conclusions　Nalmefene can restrain central inflammation and cell apoptosis to diminish the memory impairment after surgery in rats.