Objective To provide reference values for bone mineral density (BMD) in different skeletal regions of female Wistar rats at different ages. Methods Thirty SPF female Wistar rats were selected. The BMD of different skeletal regions (skull, upper limbs, thighs, trunk, ribs, pelvis, spine and the whole body) was measured by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) at 6, 10, 12, 24 and 30 months of age. The bone mineral densities between different age groups and that of different skeletal regions in the same age groups were compared. Results The BMD of the skull, upper limbs, thighs, trunk, ribs, pelvis, spine and the whole body was increased rapidly with age, and reached a peak at 10 months of age. The BMD of the skull, upper limbs, thighs, trunk, ribs were significantly higher than the whole body BMD in the same month-age group ( P < 0.05 or P < 0.01). However, there was no significant difference between the pelvic, spine and the whole body BMD ( P > 0.05). There was a significant positive correlation among the three correlations ( P <0.01). Conclusions Some background data are provided for the bone biology studies of female Wistar rats, and provide useful supplementary reference for the studies of bone metabolism in rats and their application in biomedicine.