Various studies have demonstrated the usefulness of near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) for detecting cerebral ischemia during a carotid endarterectomy; however, it is difficult to apply NIRS to the diagnosis of ischemic stroke, since commercially available NIRS, which uses continuous-wave light, does not provide quantitative values of baseline hemoglobin (Hb) concentrations. In contrast, time-resolved near-infrared spectroscopy (TRS) permits quantitative measurement of Hb concentrations. We applied TRS to detection of cerebra vasospasm after subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). We investigated 11 age-matched controls and 14 aneurysmal SAH patients that comprised 10 patients with World Federation of Neurological Societies (WFNS) grade V and 4 patients with WFNS grade II. Employing TR-NIRS, we measured the cortical oxygen saturation (CoSO2) and baseline Hb concentrations in the middle cerebral artery territory. The CoSO2 and Hb concentrations remained stable after SAH in 6 patients; digital subtraction angiography (DSA) did not reveal vasospasm in these patients. In 8 patients, however, CoSO2 and total Hb decreased abruptly between 5 and 9 days after SAH. DSA revealed diffuse vasospasms in 6 of 8 patients. The reduction of CoSO2 predicted occurrence of vasospasm at a cutoff value of 3.9%-6.4% with 100% sensitivity and 85.7% specificity. Trans cranial Doppler (TCD) failed to detect vasospasm in 4 cases, whereas TR-NIRS could. Finally, TRS performed on day 1 after SAH revealed significantly higher CoSO2 than that of the controls (p = 0.048), but there was no significant difference in total Hb. TRS detected vasospasm by evaluating the CBO in the cortex and may be more sensitive than TCD, which assesses the blood flow velocity in the M1 portion. TRS may be useful for the diagnosis of ischemic events in stroke patients.