Abstract: Objective To establish a sleep apnea syndrome (SAS) model in rats. Methods Thirty two male Wistar rats were randomly divided into four groups: the control group, sleep deprivation group，intermittent hypoxia group, intermittent hypoxia and sleep deprivation group. The experiment lasted for 8 weeks, during the experiment, tail-cuff systolic blood pressure was measured every week. At the end of the experiment, invasive arterial blood pressure was measured and the cardiac and left ventricular were weighed. The Cardiac Mass Index was estimated. Tissues from the large artery, lungs and kidneys were embedded in paraffin and histological examination was conducted. Results During various intervals of intermittent hypoxia exposure or sleep deprivation, tail-cuff systolic blood pressure progressively increased.At end of the experiment, both the cardiac weight, left ventricular weight and invasive arterial blood pressure also increased, especially the intermittent hypoxia and sleep deprivation group. Compared with the control group, the arterial vascular wall, as well as the pulmonary arteriole vascular wall of rats in the intermittent hypoxia and sleep deprivation group became thicker. At the same time，epithelial cells of renal tubules showed typical hydropic degeneration and protein cast appeared in the renal tubules.Conclusion Asleep apnea syndrome rat model was successfully established by intermittent hypoxia exposure and sleep deprivation.

Key words: Sleep apnea syndrom, Rat, Intermittent hypoxia exposure, Sleep deprivation