This study investigated the ameliorative effect of black rice anthocyanin (BACN) in senescent mice induced by D-galactose. The male mice were randomly divided into five groups, namely, the normal group, the model group and dosage groups (15, 30 and 60 mg kg(-1) of BACN). The model group and three dosage groups were continuously injected subcutaneously with D-galactose. The results suggested that superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) were significantly increased upon black rice anthocyanin treatment, while MDA and the activity of monoamine oxidase (MAO) significantly decreased. The expressions of superoxide dismutase genes (SOD1 and SOD2) in liver were up-regulated in black rice anthocyanin group, while the expression of the MAO-B gene was down-regulated. These findings demonstrated that the ameliorative effect of BACN might be achieved partly by altering endogenous antioxidant enzymatic and aging-related enzymatic activities and regulating SOD1, SOD2 and MAO-B gene expressions.