Statins are a promising new strategy to prevent contrast-induced acute kidney injury (CI-AKI). In this study we compared the ameliorative effect of different statins in a rat model of CI-AKI. Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into five groups: control group; CI-AKI group; CI-AKI + rosuvastatin group (10 mg/kg/day); CI-AKI + simvastatin group (80 mg/kg/day); and CI-AKI + atorvastatin group (20 mg/kg/day). CI-AKI was induced by dehydration for 72 hours, followed by furosemide intramuscular injection 20 minutes before low-osmolar contrast media (CM) intravenous injection. Statins were administered by oral gavage once daily for 3 consecutive days before CM injection and once 4 hours after CM injection. Rats were sacrificed 24 hours after CM injection, and renal function, kidney histopathology, nitric oxide (NO) metabolites, and markers of oxidative stress, inflammation, and apoptosis were evaluated. The results showed that atorvastatin and rosuvastatin but not simvastatin ameliorated CM-induced serum creatinine elevation and histopathological alterations. Atorvastatin and rosuvastatin showed similar effectiveness against CM-induced oxidative stress, but simvastatin was less effective. Atorvastatin was most effective against NO system dysfunction and cell apoptosis, whereas rosuvastatin was most effective against inflammation. Our findings indicate that statins exhibit differential effects in preventing CI-AKI when given at equivalent lipid-lowering doses.