Objective:To select stable expression of reference gene and to explore the water channel protein 5 mRNA expression for drowning rat model in different time points. Methods:Drowning rat was modeled in different time points(0 min,n=6;15 min,n=6;4 h,n=6;16 h,n=6;48 h,n=6;72 h,n=6). Total RNA was extracted from samples and reversed transcription was conducted for cDNA syn-thesis. Candidate reference genes were detected by real-time PCR. In order to screen out the most stable reference gene,geNorm and NormFinder was used to rank the expression of each gene. Then,AQP-5 mRNA expression was detected by qRT-PCR. Results:ACTB was the most stable reference gene. Our study showed that the expression of AQP-5 mRNA was downloaded except 72 h in this model(15 min/0 min=0.51,P<0.001;4 h/0 min=0.53,P<0.001;16 h/0 min=0.63,P<0.001;48 h/0 min=0.81,P<0.05;72 h/0 min=0.89,P>0.05). Conclusion:AQP-5 mRNA expression has some positive meaning and improves forensic identification in drowning model.