Abstract: The nature and functions of astrocytes (AS)， the pathological changes and roles of AS after spinal cord injury， the experimental methods of inhibiting AS proliferation and glial scar formation， and so on, were reviewed. AS beneficially affects repairing injured spinal cord at different periods of differentiation. However， adult AS secreting the factors formed the chemical glial barrier which severely affects nerve regeneration and hinders axon extension. Because of the static， activated and proliferative AS tending to coexist after spinal cord injury， and complex factors of barrier formation， the current approach taken by a single method is difficult to effectively control the AS proliferation and glial scar formation.

Key words: spinal cord injury(SCI), astrocytes(AS), glial scar, glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), review