Acute paraquat (PQ) poisoning is one of the most common forms of pesticide poisoning. Oxidative stress and inflammation are thought to be important mechanisms in PQ-induced acute lung injury (ALI). Selenium (Se) can scavenge intracellular free radicals directly or indirectly. In this study, we investigated whether porous Se@SiO
2
nanospheres could alleviate oxidative stress and inflammation in PQ-induced ALI. Male Sprague Dawley rats and RLE-6TN cells were used in this study. Rats were categorized into 3 groups: control (n=6), PQ (n=18), and PQ + Se@SiO
2
(n=18). The PQ and PQ + Se@SiO
2
groups were randomly and evenly divided into 3 sub-groups according to different time points (24, 48 and 72 h) after PQ treatment. Porous Se@SiO
2
nanospheres 1 mg/kg (in the PQ + Se@SiO
2
group) were administered via intraperitoneal injection every 24 h. Expression levels of reduced glutathione, malondialdehyde, superoxide dismutase, reactive oxygen species (ROS), nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB), phosphorylated NF-κB (p-NF-κB), tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin-1β were detected, and a histological analysis of rat lung tissues was performed. The results showed that the levels of ROS, malondialdehyde, NF-κB, p-NF-κB, tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin-1β were markedly increased after PQ treatment. Glutathione and superoxide dismutase levels were reduced. However, treatment with porous Se@SiO
2
nanospheres markedly alleviated PQ-induced oxidative stress and inflammation. Additionally, the results from histological examinations and wet-to-dry weight ratios of rat lung tissues showed that lung damage was reduced after porous Se@SiO
2
nanosphere treatment. These data indicate that porous Se@SiO
2
nanospheres may reduce NF-κB, p-NF-κB and inflammatory cytokine levels by inhibiting ROS in PQ-induced ALI. This study demonstrates that porous Se@SiO
2
nanospheres may be a therapeutic method for use in the future for PQ poisoning.