Oxidative stress plays an important role in the pathogenesis of early brain injury (EBI) following subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). The aim of this study was to assess whether cysteamine prevents post-SAH oxidative stress injury via its antioxidative and anti-apoptotic effects. It was observed that intraperitoneal administration of cysteamine (20 mg/kg/day) could significantly alleviate EBI (including neurobehavioral deficits, brain edema, blood-brain barrier permeability, and cortical neuron apoptosis) after SAH in rats. Meanwhile, cysteamine treatment reduced post-SAH elevated the reactive oxygen species level, the concentration of malondialdehyde, 3-nitrotyrosine, and 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine and increased the glutathione peroxidase enzymatic activity, the concentration of glutathione and brain-derived neurotrophic factor in brain cortex at 48 h after SAH. These results indicated that administration of cysteamine may ameliorate EBI and provide neuroprotection after SAH in rat models.