Objective To observe morphological effects of ischemic acute kidney injury (IAKI) on hepatocytes in rats. Methods Western blotting, immunohistochemical staining, light and electron microscopy were used in this observation. Results Necrotic lesions, including pale and vacuolization necrosis lesions, in varied sizes were found in livers of IAKI animals. Cytologically, hepatocyte with either pale necrosis or vacuolization necrosis, hepatocytes with pyknotic cell death and undergoing apoptosis constituted the hepatic damages induced by IAKI but necrosis was more evident. Western blotting assays provided that both PARP-1 and Caspase-3 expressed much stronger in livers of IAKI animals. In addition immunohistochemical staining of both PARP-1 and Caspase-3 revealed that positive hepatocytes were more evident during the acute hepatic damage induced by IAKI. Conclusion Necrosis, PARP-1 mediated cell death and apoptosis, Caspase-dependent cell death are involved in hepatic damages induced by IAKI, but necrosis is more predominated.