Objective To improve the techniques for establishment of a stable and reproducible animal model of heart transplantation in rat for further research on acute rejection.Methods To expose the recipient's abdominal arteries at first.Then to obtain the donor's heart and upper right lung.The donor's ascending aorta was anatomized with recipient's abdominal aorta and then blood flowed through donor's organ.Results 80 heterotopic heart transplantations were performed,4 rats died of anastomotic bleeding,2 died of the stenosis of anastomosis and 1 died of the failure of heart rebound, and the total successful rate was above 80%.Conclusion The modified surgical techniques and careful operative management can contribute to better success in heart transplantation in rats.