Objective To study the effect of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF)on the expression of L-glutamate/L-aspartate transporter (GLAST) protein and its function in the retinal mice at 3 to 7 days postnatal were cultured by an enzymatic digestion method, and the third passage different concentrations of recombinant human BDNF (50, 75, 100, 125 and 150 ng/ml) for 24 h in group and the control group. The expression of GLAST protein was analyzed with one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and L-[3,4-3H]-glutamic acid uptake was analyzed with independent samples t test. Results The expression of GLAST protein in the control group was 0.151±0.025 and the expression in the BDNF group (50, 75, 100, 125 and 150 ng/ml) was 0.331±0.076, 0.413±0.110, 0.497±0.080, 0.411±0.072, and 0.319±0.084, respectively. Different concentrations of BDNF could up-regulate the expression of GLAST protein compared to the control group (F=6.793, P=0.003).The expression of GLAST protein reached a maximum when the concentration of BDNF was 100 ng/ml.L-[3,4-3H]-glutamic acid uptake for the 100 ng/ml BDNF group and control group was 81 213±significantly higher than for the control group (t=6.462, P=0.023). Conclusion BDNF can up-regulate the expression of GLAST protein and increase extracellular glutamate uptake.