Objective To investigate the expression of AT1R in heart and kidney of rats with salt-sensitive hypertension induced by sensory denervation，and to explore their role in the development of salt-sensitive hypertension．Methods Newborn male Wistar rats were given capsaicin subcutaneously to establish the model． After the weaning period，the rats were divided into 4 groups and fed with different salt diets for 4 weeks: control plus normal salt diet ( CONNS) ，control plus high salt diet ( CON-HS) ，capsaicin pretreatment plus normal salt diet ( CAP-NS) ，and capsaicin plus high salt diet ( CAP-HS) ． The rats were killed at 4 weeks after treatment． Immunohistochemistry was used to detect the expression of AT1R protein in the heart and kidney tissues． The expression of AT1R mRNA in heart and kidney was determined by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction． Results ① The tail-cuff systolic blood pressure was significantly higher in the CAP-HS rats than that in the other three groups at the age of 7 weeks ( P ＜ 0. 01 ) ． ② Immunohistochemistry results showed a significantly higher AT1R protein expression in the CAP-HS group than in the CONNS group ( P ＜ 0. 01) ，and the AT1R protein expression in the kidney and heart tissue was significantly higher in the CONHS group than in the CON-NS group ( P ＜ 0. 05 ) ． ③ RT-PCR results showed that AT1R mRNA expression of the experimental groups CAP-HS and CON-HS was significantly higher than that in the CON-NS group ( P ＜ 0. 01，and P ＜0. 05，respectively) ． Conclusions The over-expression of AT1R protein and AT1R mRNA in the heart and kidney may be associated with the increase of blood pressure in the rats with salt-sensitive hypertension．