Objective To explore the effects of compound Gastrodia honey cyclic glycopeptide tablets on T lymphocyte subsets, early renal injury, and angiotensin II receptor type 1 ( AT1R) / Smad3 proteins in essential hypertensive rats. Methods The study was divided into three groups: normal (NC), model ( SHR) and drug (TMGT) groups. Changes in blood pressure, T lymphocyte subsets in peripheral blood, IL-6 and TNF-α in serum, pathology in renal tissue, AT1R/ Smad3 protein expression were assessed. Expression of AT1R/ Smad3 mRNA was detected. Results Compared with the NC group, tail artery pressure in the SHR group was increased at 2, 4 and 8 weeks after administration (P<0. 05). However, no significant difference was found between SHR and TMGT groups at week 0 (P<0.05). At 2, 4 and 8 weeks after administration, systolic blood pressure of the tail artery in the SHR group was significantly higher than that in the NC group, and the tail vein of the TMGT group was systolic after treatment. Blood pressure in the SHR group was significantly lower than that in the SHR group ( P< 0.05). The ratio of CD4⁺ / CD8⁺ cells in the SHR group was significantly higher than that in the NC group ( P< 0.05). The ratio of CD4⁺ / CD8⁺ cells in the TMGT group was significantly lower than that in the SHR group after treatment (P<0.05). Compared with the NC group, the serum levels of IL-6 and TNF-α in the SHR group were increased significantly (P<0.05) and those in the TMGT group were decreased significantly ( P< 0.05). Renal tissue of the SHR group was more seriously damaged than that of the NC group with glomerular hypertrophy and basement membrane thickening, a large number of glomeruli became vacuoles, capillary stenosis and occlusion. After treatment, renal tissue of the TMGT group was significantly improved compared with that of the SHR group. Compared with the NC group, protein and mRNA expression of Smad3 and AT1R in renal tissue of the SHR group was increased significantly (P< 0. 05) and that of Smad3 and AT1R in renal tissue of the TMGT group was decreased significantly ( P< 0.05). Conclusions Compound Gastrodia honey cyclic glycopeptide tablets effectively regulate T lymphocyte subsets, improve immune functions, alleviate early renal injury caused by hypertension, and inhibit the expression of Smad3 and AT1R proteins in renal tissue to treat hypertension.