Objective To investigate the effect of resolvin D1 on pulmonary surfactant and alveolar macrophages (AM) in rats with pulmonary injury which was induced by Paraquat. Methods Ninety rats with pulmonary injury were randomly divided into 3 groups: control group (group C, normal saline, normal saline), Paraquat group (group P, Paraquat, normal saline) and resolvin D1 group (group Rv, Paraquat, resolvin D1). According to the grouping information, normal saline or Paraquat was given for modeling, and 3 hours later resolvin D1 or normal saline was given for treatment. The rat lung tissues were collected 24 hours after mo-deling to detect the mRNA expression levels of of surfactant proteins A, B and C using RT-PCR. The total protein in the bronchial alveolar lavage fluid (BALF) was also detected. The effect of resolvin D1 on AM was measured on isolated rat AM. Results The expression of three surfactant protein mRNAs in the three groups was different, where the expression level was the highest in the group C, the second in the group Rv, and the lowest in the group P (P < 0.05). The total protein content in BALF was also different, where it was the highest in the group C, the second in the group Rv, and the lowest in the group P (P < 0.05). The content of IL-6, TNF-α and LDH increased when Paraquat was added to in vitro culture medium (P < 0.05); while adding resolvin D1 reversed it (P < 0.05). Conclusions Resolvin D1 can help to treat pulmonary injury induced by Paraquat through boosting the expression of surfactant proteins and inhibiting the release of IL-6, TNF-α and LDH.