Objective To investigate the effects of hypertonic saline (HTS) treatment on the function and susceptibility to sepsis of reticuloendothelial system (RES) in mice with hemorrhagic shock. Methods Forty percent of total blood volume of male Balb/c mice was withdrawn by cardiac puncture. Two hours later, the mice were treated with blood infusion and normal saline (10 ml/kg) or 7.5% NaCl (10 ml/kg).The survival rate of the mice was observed after cecal ligation and puncture (CLP). The phagocytosis function of the RES was measured by carbon clearance rate(α) and carbon amount ingested by the macrophages of liver and spleen. In vitro, the peritoneal phagocyte function in solutions of different osmotic pressor was measured by assaying neutral red amount taken in. Results The survival rate after CLP in HTS treated group was 70%, whereas all the mice in the normal saline group died. At the third hour after hemorrhagic shock, the RES carbon clearance rate(α) and carbon amount ingested by the macrophages of liver in the HTS treated mice were 5.61±0.42 and 0.59±0.19 respectively, significantly higher than those in the normal saline treated mice (4.15±0.62, 0.42±0.16). In vitro, hyperosmolarity below 40 mmol/L had no significant effects on the phagocytosis activity of peritoneal macrophages in mice. Conclusion Treating hemorrhagic shock with HTS can decrease the susceptibility to sepsis and improve the RES phagocytosis function indirectly.