The aim of the study was to explore the effect of atorvastatin on improvement of the function of the spinal cord in rats with chronic fluorosis. Sixty 3-month-old Wistar rats were separated randomly into three groups: normal group (N group), control group (C group) and atorvastatin group (A group). The Basso Beattie and Bresnahan scale and oblique board test showed that the rats in A group got higher score and better hind-limb motor function than C group. Immunohistochemistry and western blotting revealed that compared with N group, matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP-9) and p53 were highly expressed and myelin basic protein (MBP) was low expressed in spinal cord of C group. Meanwhile, MMP-9 and p53 expression were decreased and MBP was upregulated by atorvastatin compared with C group. In conclusion, the improvement of the function of the spinal cord in rats can be found when they were treated with atorvastatin.