<i>Background/Aims:</i> Ischemia-reperfusion injury is a serious clinical situation which can cause serious morbidity and mortality. An experimental renal ischemia-reperfusion injury model was designed to evaluate the role of glyceryl trinitrate (GTN) on renal function and histology. <i>Methods:</i> 50 Wistar albino rats were used in our study. Five groups were formed: (1) sham-control group; (2) acute renal ischemia (ARI) group with placebo (0.9% NaCl) infusion; (3) GTN infusion with a 75 µg/kg/min dose prior to ARI was administered; (4) GTN infusion with a 150 µg/kg/min dose prior to ARI was given, and finally (5) 150 µg/kg/min GTN infusion after the ARI period was applied. Serum BUN and creatinine levels were measured for evaluation of renal function. T_max-sec, glomerular filtration rate (GFR), and T_max-min results following a ^99mTc-DTPA diuretic renal scintigraphy were used. Histological examination was performed on nephrectomy specimens. <i>Results:</i> Groups 2 and 5 showed higher BUN, creatinine, and lower GFR values than the other groups (p = 0.0001). There was no difference in BUN, creatinine, and GFR levels between groups 2 and 5 (p = 0.971, p = 0.739, p = 0.393). Also the T_max-sec values were higher in groups 2 and 5 compared with the other groups (p = 0.0001). The presence of tubular necrosis was different between groups and was higher in groups 2 and 5 (p = 0.002). <i>Conclusion:</i> The application of GTN, a nitric oxide donor, has caused significant improvement in renal function when applied prior to an experimentally designed renal ischemia-reperfusion model. But administration of GTN had no effect after occurrence of ischemia.