Objective To explore the expression of trefoil factor1 (TFF1) gene in submandibular glands during the self-healing of experimental gastric ulcer in rats. BR>Methods Immunohistochemical SP and RT-PCR methods were used to detect the expression of TFF1 peptide and TFF1 mRNA in submandibular glands on 42 gastric ulcer(GU),21 normal saline control(NS) and 6 normal(N) rats. Results TFF1 immunoreactive profiles were mainly located in cytoplasma of granular convoluted tubule (GCT) epithelia cells, especially in many granules cell.Substantial amounts of TFF1 were also found in lumen or luminal membrane of striated duct(SD) and interlobular duct(ILD).In the GUs，especially at the 6-day GU, TFF1 in the lumens of SD and ILD increased.The integral absorbance (IA) values of TFF1 increased obviously in gastric ulcer which was stronger than in the other two groups（EM> P/EM> <0.05 or EM>P/EM> <0.01）.On day 1,2,4,6 the IA values of TFF1 peptide increased gradually and kept at the highest level on day 6,then a trend of decrease on day 10-23,but still obviously higher than the control group. The optical density of TFF1/GAPDH mRNA on the gastric ulcer group was obviously higher than that of the saline and control group during day 2 to day 23 after gastric ulcer operation（ EM>P/EM> <0.05 or EM>P/EM> <0.01）。Conclusion The TFF1 plays a promotive function during the self healing of exper