The objective of this study was to evaluate the rivastigmine effect on habituation to the open-field memory impairment observed in sepsis survivor rats. A prospective, controlled experiment was designed. The setting was an animal basic science laboratory, and the subjects were male Wistar rats weighing 300 to 350 g. Rats underwent cecal ligation and puncture (CLP; sepsis group) with "basic support" (saline at 50 mL kg(-1) immediately and 12 h after CLP plus ceftriaxone at 30 mg kg(-1) and clindamycin at 25 mg kg(-1) 6, 12, and 18 h after CLP) or sham-operated (control group). Three days after surgery (1 week before the start the behavior procedure), treatment with rivastigmine was started. Ten days after surgery, animals were submitted to the habituation to an open-field memory test. In the test session, there was a significant reduction in both crossings and rearings in the sham and sepsis group that received rivastigmine when compared with the training, indicating memory acquisition. In contrast, in the sepsis group that did not receive rivastigmine there was no difference in crossings and rearings between training and test session, indicating an impairment in memory acquisition. Therefore, rivastigmine reversed cognitive impairment in sepsis survivor rats in the open-field test.