Objective Alzheimer's disease (AD) is one of the most important neurodegenerative disorders. It is characterized by dementia including defi cits in learning and memory. The present study aimed to evaluate the effects of aqueous extract of lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) on spatial performance of AD rats. Methods Male Wistar rats were fi rst divided into control and AD groups. Rat model of AD was established by intracerebroventricular injection of 10 g A1-42 20 d prior to administration of the lavender extract. Rats in both groups were then introduced to 2 stages of task learning (with an interval of 20 d) in Morris water maze, each followed by one probe test. After the fi rst stage of spatial learning, control and AD animals received different doses (50, 100 and 200 mg/kg) of the lavender extract. Results In the fi rst stage of experiment, the latency to locate the hidden platform in AD group was signifi cantly higher than that in control group. However, in the second stage of experiment, control and AD rats that received distilled water (vehicle) showed similar performance, indicating that the maze navigation itself could improve the spatial learning of AD animals. Besides, in the second stage of experiment, control and AD rats that received lavender extract administration at different doses (50, 100, and 200 mg/ kg) spent less time locating the platform (except for the AD rats with 50 mg/kg extract treatment), as compared with their counterparts with vehicle treatment, respectively. In addition, lavender extract signifi cantly improved the performance of control and AD rats in the probe test, only at the dose of 200 mg/kg, as compared with their counterparts with vehicle treatment. Conclusion The lavender extract can effectively reverse spatial learning defi cits in AD rats.