Objective To establish a more effective rat model of dilated cardiomyopathy induced by adrimycin.Methods Fourty-two adult male Wistar rats were randomly divided into 2 groups.Adrimycin was injected into the rats of the Adr-DCM group by intraperitoneal at the dose of 2 mg/kg per 3 days for 5 times;then at a dose of 2 mg/kg per 7 days for 5 times.while rats of the NC group were injected with 0.9% saline using the same methods.Transthoracic echocardiography was applied to evaluate rats heart function and electronmicroscope was applied to evaluate rats morphology of myocardium.Results Compared to the control group,LV end diastolic diameter(LVEDD) and LV end systolic diameter(LVESD) of rats in Adr-DCM group were both significantly increased(P<0.05),while the LV ejection fraction(EF) and LV fraction shortening(FS) were significantly decreased(P<0.05) in Adr-DCM group 10 weeks after administration of adriamycin.The cumulative mortality in Adr-DCM group was 25%.Conclusions Chronic administration of intraperitoneal injection adriamycin to rat results in a dialted cardiomyopathy;a more effective rat model of a dilated cardiomyopathy induced by drimycin is established.