OBJECTIVE： To investigate the effects of Hericium erinaceus polysaccharide on the content of short-chain fatty acids （SCFAs） in the intestine of ulcerative colitis model rats. METHODS： A total of 40 SD rats were randomly divided into blank group， model group and H. erinaceus polysaccharide low-dose and high-dose groups （0.5， 1.0 g/kg）， with 10 rats in each group. Except for blank group， other groups were given acetic acid enema to induce ulcerative colitis model. The next day after modeling， H. erinaceus polysaccharide groups were given relevant medicine solution intragastrically； blank group and model group were given relevant volume of water intragastrically， for 10 consecutive days. Colon tissue was collected， and pathological changes of colon tissue were observed by HE staining. The pathological changes of colon in rats were observed with naked eyes and scored so as to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy. The contents of 6 kinds of SCFAs （acetic acid，propionic acid，butyric acid，isobutyric acid，pentanoic acid and isovaleric acid） in intestine of rats were determined by GC-MS. RESULTS： Compared with blank group， inflammatory lesions of colonic mucosal epithelium in model group rats were obvious； colonic mucosal ulcer score increased significantly （P＜0.01）； the contents of 5 kinds of SCFAs and the total amount of SCFAs in colon except for propionic acid were decreased significantly （P＜0.01）. Compared with model group， the degree of colonic histopathological damage in H. erinaceus polysaccharide groups was significantly reduced； colonic mucosal ulcer scores were significantly reduced （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）； the contents of 5 kinds of SCFAs and the total amount of SCFAs in colon except for propionic acid were increased significantly （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. CONCLUSIONS： H. erinaceus polysaccharide can effectively improve the pathological condition of ulcerative colitis model rats； its regulation of intestinal SCFAs （especially acetic acid and butyric acid） may be an important mechanism of its anti-ulcerative colitis.