Objective To explore the efficacy and potential mechanism of baicalin in regulating the core clinical symptoms of ADHD by Morris water maze and open field tests. Methods Thirty SHRs were randomly divided into five groups: model, methylphenidate hydrochloride (MPH), baicalin, baicalin+tetrabenazine, and MPH+tetrabenazine groups with six rats in each group. Another six WKY rats were used as the normal control group. Rats in the MPH group (1. 5 mg/ kg) and baicalin group (150 mg/ kg) were administered the corresponding drugs (1 mL/100 g) by gavage, and those in normal control and model groups were administered an equal volume of normal saline by gavage. In addition to the corresponding drug gavage, rats in MPH+tetrabenazine and baicalin+tetrabenazine groups were subjected to intraperitoneal injection of tetrabenazine (3 mg/ kg) in accordance with body weight (0. 5 mL/100 g). The course was 4 weeks for all groups. Open field and Morris water maze experiments were conducted at predefined time points to record and analyze the result. Results In the open field test, the total distance and average speed of rats in the MPH and baicalin groups were significantly lower than those in the model group (P<0. 05). In the Morris water maze test,the latency of rats in the MPH and baicalin groups was significantly shorter than that of the model group (P<0. 05), and the proportion of movement distance and residence time in the target quadrant and the number of times crossing the platform in the MPH and baicalin groups were significantly higher than those in the model group (P<0. 05), and there is no significant difference between the two grups. The total distance and average speed in the baicalin+tetrabenazine group were significantly lower than those in the model group (P<0. 05) and larger than those in baicalin group in the open field test. The latency in the baicalin+ tetrabenazine grup was significantly shorter than that in the model group (P<0. 05) and was significantly longer than that in baicalin group (P<0. 05) in the Morris water maze test. The movement distance and residence time in the target quadrant in the baicalin+tetrabenazine group were higher than model group and significantly lower than those in the baicalin group (P<0. 05). Conclusions Baicalin controls the core symptoms of hyperactivity, impulse, and inattention in the ADHD model, and its curative effect may be related to regulation of dopamine vesicle transport.