Propofol improves neuronal survival in the cortex after traumatic brain injury (TBI). Unbiased stereological techniques were performed for a quantitative assessment of neuronal cell loss in various brain regions: cortex (A), hippocampal subregions [(CA1 (C), CA2/3 (D), and DG (E)], (CA1, CA2/3, and DG), and thalamus (B). TBI resulted in significant neuronal cell loss in the cortex, thalamus, and hippocampus. Propofol significantly improved neuronal survival in the cortex (310,081 ± 26,616 vs. 191,315 ± 16,679 counts/mm³ for propofol-treated [n = 5] and isoflurane-treated [n = 7] samples, respectively, P < 0.05 vs. TBI-isofluorane). However, there were no statistically significant differences between the injured treatment groups with respect to neuronal survival in the thalamus or hippocampus. Analysis by one-way ANOVA followed by post hoc adjustments using Student–Newman–Keuls test. Mean ± SEM. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001 versus sham; #P < 0.05 versus isoflurane. CA = CornuAmmonis; DG = dentate gyrus.