Objective To observe the effect of emodin (1,3,8-trihydroxy-6-methyl anthraquinone) on adipose browning in ApoE knockout mice and explore its potential mechanism to improve the blood stasis status such as hyperlipemia. Methods Male 8-week-old ApoE knockout mice were randomly divided into three groups, model, 5. 7 mg/ kg simvastatin, and 80 mg/ kg emodin groups, and fed a high fat diet. C57BL/6J control mice were fed a normal diet. The mice in each group were intragastrically administered with drugs or drinking water for 18 consecutive weeks.Parameters, including body weight, inguinal white adipose tissue (iWAT) mass, brown adipose tissue (BAT) mass, blood lipids, pathological features of iWAT histology, and in situ uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1) expression in iWAT, were observed. Results Compared with the model group, the body weight, ratio of inguinal white adipose tissue weight/ body weight ( P <0. 05), and blood TC and TG were decreased significantly ( P <0. 05), while the ratio of brown adipose tissue weight/ body weight, EF, and FS ( P < 0. 01) were increased significantly in the emodin group ( P < 0. 05). Histological examination using HE staining of iWAT showed that the cells had multiple compartments and became smaller and round, and the tissue became more dense with morphological characteristics of brown adipose tissue. Immunohistochemistry showed that the AOD of UCP1 in iWAT was increased significantly ( P < 0. 01). Conclusions Emodin may improve the symptoms of hyperlipemia by promoting browning of inguinal white adipose tissue and reducing white fat accumulation in ApoE knockout mice, which may be related to the effect of zhuyu.