Salidroside is a glucoside of tyrosol found in the plant Rhodiola rosea. It is thought to be one of the compounds responsible for the antidepressant and anxiolytic actions of this plant, along with rosavin. Salidroside may be more active than rosavin, even though many commercially marketed Rhodiola rosea extracts are standardised for rosavin content rather than salidroside. Salidroside has been reported to be neuroprotective in vitro, which raises the possibility of using SDS as a neuroprotective agent after nerve injuries. In the present study, the possibly beneficial effect of SDS on promoting nerve regeneration after sciatic nerve crush injury in rats was investigated. The results showed that SDS achieved functionally successful nerve regeneration in the rat sciatic nerve crush injury model, indicating that SDS holds potential as a neuroprotective agent for peripheral nerve therapies.