Objective To investigate the effects of repeated inhalation of sevoflurane on longterm cognitive function in rats and the expression of pcofilin and cofilin in hippocampal neurons. Methods 20 male SpragueDawley rats were randomly divided into Sevoflurane group (n=10) and Control group (n=10). Sevoflurane rats inhaled 2.4% sevoflurane for 2 h for 7 d and Control group did not. The cognitive function of the two groups of rats was detected by Morris water maze navigation experiment and space exploration experiment. The apoptosis of hippocampal neurons was detected by TUNEL assay. The expression of cofilin, Bax, Bcl-2, and p-cofilin in hippocampus was detected by Western Blot. Results On the 3rd, 4th and 5th day of the navigation experiment, the escape latency of Sevoflurane group was longer than that of Control group(P＜0.05). The results of space exploration experiments in the two groups showed that the number of rats crossing the platform of Sevoflurane group was significant less that of Control group. The plate quadrant dwell time of Sevoflurane group was significantly shorter than that of Control group (P＜0.05). There was no significant difference in swimming speed between the two groups (P＞0.05). The number of apoptotic cells in the hippocampus of Sevoflurane group was significantly higher than that in Control group. The expression of Bax and cofilin in the Sevoflurane group were significantly higher than that in the Control group(P＜0.05), and the expression of Bcl2 and pcofilin were significantly lower than that in the Control group(P＜0.05). Conclusion Repeated inhalation of sevoflurane may reduce cognitive function in rats, and its mechanism may be related to upregulation of apoptosis induced by cofilin expression.