Although mRNA expression of group IIA secretory phospholipase A₂ (sPLA₂‐IIA) has been implicated in responses to injury in the CNS, information on protein expression remains unclear. In this study, we investigated temporal and spatial expression of sPLA₂‐IIA mRNA and immunoreactivity in transient focal cerebral ischemia induced in rats by occlusion of the middle cerebral artery. Northern blot analysis showed a biphasic increase in sPLA₂‐IIA mRNA expression following 60‐min of ischemia–reperfusion: an early phase at 30 min and a second increase at a late phase ranging from 12 h to 14 days. In situ hybridization localized the early‐phase increase in sPLA₂‐IIA mRNA to the affected ischemic cortex and the late‐phase increase to the penumbral area. Besides sPLA₂‐IIA mRNA, glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and cyclo‐oxygenase‐2 mRNAs, but not cytosolic PLA₂, also showed an increase in the penumbral area at 3 days after ischemia–reperfusion. Immunohistochemistry of sPLA₂‐IIA indicated positive cells in the penumbral area similar to the GFAP‐positive astrocytes but different from the isolectin B4‐positive microglial cells. Confocal microscopy further confirmed immunoreactivity of sPLA₂‐IIA in reactive astrocytes but not in microglial cells. Taken together, these results demonstrate for the first time an up‐regulation of the inflammatory sPLA₂‐IIA in reactive astrocytes in response to cerebral ischemia–reperfusion.