Abstract: Objectives To investigate the expression and significance of adiponectin(Adip) and the it's receptor 1,2(AdipoR1, AdipoR2) in the pathogenesis of alcoholic liver disease(ALD). Methods 50 male Wistar rats were acclimatized for 7 days and then 10 rats were randomly assigned to the normal control group. Others were to develop the rats model of ALD by intragastric alcohol of increasing concentration gradually (30%-60%, 5-9g·kg-1·d-1), 8, 8, 8 and 9 rats were sacrificed randomly at the end of 4th, 8th , 12th and 16th week, liver samples and liver homogenate (10%) were collected respectively. The concentrations of triglyceride (TG) in the liver homogenate and the level of adiponectin and tumor necrosis alpha (TNFα) in the serum were measured by biochemical chromatometry and ELISA method respectively. The mRNA and protein expression of Adip, AdipoR1 and AdipoR2 in the hepatic tissue were performed by reverse transcription polymerase (RT-PCR) and western blot. Results The model of rats alchoholic liver disease was developed. With the progress of ALD，the level of TG and TNFα in serum increased and the contention of Adip decreased gradually. The expression of Adip and AdipoR2 mRNA and protein decreased and no influenced in the AdipoR1. There is negative correlation between the expression of serum Adip and AdipoR2 in hepatic tissue and the level of serum TNF-α and TG in the liver homogenate.（r=-0.98~-0.90, P<0.01）. And the expression level of Adip protein was positively correlated with the contents of Adip in the serum (r=0.90, P<0.01). Conclusions There is a close correlation between the decreased expression of Adip and AdipoR2 and adipose degenaration and inflammation in hepatic tissue.