OBJECTIVE To explore the regulatory effects of berberine on immune function and inflammation response of mice with influenza virus infection. METHODS A total of 60 mice were divided into the control group, the influenza virus group and the berberine group, with 20 mice in each group. All the groups were given nasal drops of influenza virus to prepare influenza virus mice models except the control group. The mice were administered intragastrically with 1 mg/mL of berberine(0.4 mL/d). The counts of total white blood cells(WBC) and various types of WBC in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid(BALF) were detected, the pathol. changes of lung tissues were observed by HE staining, the proportions of Th1/Th2 and Th17/Treg were detected by flow cytometry, the levels of serum interleukin-6(IL-6), IL-4 and tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α) were detected, and the expression of retinoic acid inducible gene protein-1(RIG-1), mitochondrial antiviral signal protein(MAVS) and nuclear factor(NF)-κB was detected with the use of western blot(WB) hybridization. RESULTS The HE staining showed that inflammation cells in lung tissues of the influenza virus group were significantly increased, and alveolar structures were destroyed, and the inflammatory cells counts of the berberine group were remarkably decreased. The counts of total WBC and various types of WBC in BALF, Th1/Th2, Th17/Treg, IL-6 level, TNF-α level, RIG-1 level, MAVS level and NF-κB level of the influenza virus group were higher significantly than those of the control group, while the IL-4 level of the influenza virus group was significantly lower than that of the control group(P<0.05). The counts of total WBC and various types of WBC in BALF, Th1/Th2, Th17/Treg, IL-6 level, TNF-α level, RIG-1 level, MAVS level and NF-κB level of the berberine group were lower than those of the influenza virus group, while the IL-4 level of the berberine group was significantly higher than that of the influenza virus group(P<0.05). CONCLUSION Berberine can regulate the proportions of T lymphocyte subsets by affecting the activation of RLH signaling pathway and inhibit the inflammatory response to achieve the anti-influenza virus effect.