Chrysophanol (CH), extracted from plants of Rheum genus, possesses various pharmacological effects including anti-inflammatory activity. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the protective effects and the underlying mechanisms of CH on ovalbumin (OVA)-induced asthma in mice. Fifty mice were randomly assigned to five experimental groups: control group, model group, dexamethasone (2mg/kg) group and CH (5 and 10mg/kg) groups. The number of eosinophil cells and the production of interleukin-6 (IL-6), IL-1 beta, IL-17A and tumor necrosis factor-alpha in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were measured. In addition, pulmonary histopathology, airway resistance (Raw), T-helper17 (Th17) cells frequency and ROR gamma t expression were evaluated. Our study demonstrated that CH effectively decreased eosinophil count and inflammatory cytokines production in BALF. In addition, treatment with CH significantly inhibited the Raw, Th17 percentage and ROR gamma t expression in OVA-induced animals compared with those in model group. Histological studies also demonstrated that CH significantly suppressed OVA-induced eosinophilia in lung tissue compared with model group. Our findings supported that CH can prevent allergic asthma in the mouse model.