Selective neuronal death or loss in certain brain regions has been well characterized in animal models of transient global cerebral ischemia. However, selective neuronal death in transient focal cerebral ischemia needs more investigation. Therefore, in this study, we studied selective neuronal death in the striatum (caudate putamen) of rats subjected to 15 or 30 min middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO). Neuronal death occurred in the dorsolateral field, not in the medial field in 30 min, not 15 min, MCAO-operated rats 5 days after MCAO using neuronal nuclear antigen immunohistochemistry and Fluoro-Jade B histofluorescence staining. In this group, immunoreactivity of glial fibrillary acidic protein in astrocytes was hardly shown in the dorsolateral field, although the immunoreactivity increased in the medial field. In addition, immunoreactivity of ionized calcium binding adapter molecule 1 in microglia was dramatically increased in the dorsolateral, not in the medial, field only in 30 min MCAO-operated rats. Briefly, these results show that at least 30 min of MCAO can evoke selective neuronal death, astrocytic dysfunction and microglial activation in the dorsolateral field of the rat striatum and suggest that a rat model of 30 min MCAO can be used to investigate mechanisms of neuronal death and gliosis following brief transient focal cerebral ischemic events for acute transient ischemic attack.