The aim of the current study was to investigate whether intestinal ischemic preconditioning (IP) reduces damage to the liver during hepatic ischemia reperfusion (IR). Sprague Dawley rats were used to model liver IR injury, and were divided into the sham operation group (SO), IR group and IP group. The results indicated that IR significantly increased Bax, caspase 3 and NF‑κBp65 expression levels, with reduced expression of Bcl‑2 compared with the IP group. Compared with the IR group, the levels of AST, ALT, MPO, MDA, TNF‑α and IL‑1 were significantly reduced in the IP group. Immunohistochemistry for Bcl‑2 and Bax indicated that Bcl‑2 expression in the IP group was significantly increased compared with the IR group. In addition, IP reduced Bax expression compared with the IR group. The average liver injury was worsened in the IR group and improved in the IP group, as indicated by the morphological evaluation of liver tissues. The present study suggested that IP may alleviates apoptosis, reduce the release of pro‑inflammatory cytokines, ameloriate reductions in liver function and reduce liver tissue injury. To conclude, IP provided protection against hepatic IR injury.