We have previously characterized a graded, spinal cord contusive injury in the rat. We have now used this reproducible model to examine vascular permeability to horseradish peroxidase (HRP) after injury. The relationship between severity of injury and distribution of protein extravasation was evaluated at 3 h after injury. After mild injury, tracer was primarily confined to central gray matter and the ventral part of the dorsal columns. After moderate injury, protein extravasation was similar to that observed after mild injury, with the exception that the central hemorrhage included pericentral while matter and occasionally extended to the pial surface. After severe injury, reaction product (RP) was more densely distributed within the central cord and peripheral white matter. The axial extent of tracer at sites proximal and distal to the impact site increased with severity of injury. At 2.0 cm from the injury, no leakage of tracer was noted after mild injury. In contrast, after moderate and severe injury limited microvascular leakage of HRP was noted. Furthermore, after severe injury, in addition to local sites of microvascular leakage, intense RP was present in the dorsal columns up to at least 2.0 cm from the injury. The time course for re-establishment of the blood-spinal cord barrier to protein was evaluated from 3 h to 14 days after moderate injury. At 3 h to 1 day, protein leakage was maximal and coincided with sites of extravasated blood components, although was consistently more extensive. By 7 days, despite resolution of the initial hemorrhage, there remained scattered evidence for protein extravasation at the injured site and at sites along the axis of the cord. The blood-spinal cord barrier to HRP was reestablished by 14 days after injury.