<p><b>AIM</b>To investigate the effect of different intensity exercise training on the rat aorta stress and expression of NF-kappaB and c-Fos.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>We used treadmill exercise to establish the rat models of aerobic exercise and fatigue exercise, applied immunohistochemistry of SABC to measure the effect of different intensity exercise training on expression of NF-kappaB and c-Fos in the VEC and VSMC of rat aorta.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The change of aorta blood pressure, compared with the control group, which had significant increase in both aerobic exercise and fatigue exercise (P < 0.05), but there had no remarkable difference between inaerobic exercise and fatigue exercise. Compared with the control group, the expression of NF-kappaB and c-Fos of VEC and VSMC in aerobic exercise rats remarkably reduced, the opening angle increased remarkably (P < 0.05), and the expression of NF-kappaB and c-Fos of VEC and VSMC in fatigue exercise rats distinguished upregulated (P < 0.05). Compared with the aerobic training group, there was distinguished difference in both the expression of NF-kappaB and c-Fos of VEC and VSMC and the opening angle of pectoralis aorta in fatigue training rats (P < 0.05). This indicated that different intensity training had different effect on the expression of NF-kappaB and c-Fos of VEC and VSMC of rat aorta, and the increase trend of expression of fatigue training group was more remarkably.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Expression change of NF-kappaB and c-Fos of VEC and VSMC of rat aorta was caused by exercise training, and which had a closed relation with the exercise intensity. Chronic shear stress of aerobic training made the expression of NF-kappaB and c-Fos of VEC and VSMC of aorta distinguished downregulated, which had relationship with homeostasis that VEC and VSMC maintained the blood vessel function. Fatigue training caused the increase of wall frictional shear stress and circumferential stresses, excessive shear stress caused the expression of NF-kappaB and c-Fos of VEC and VSMC of aorta significant upregulated, blood vessel happened non-unequal growth exists, and resulted in the remodeling of structure and function of blood vessel.</p>