Objective To evaluate the effects of operant-conditioning myofeedback therapy combined with conventional rehabilitation on serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels and motor function in patients with cerebral infarction. Methods A total of 73 patients with primary cerebral infarction were enrolled and were randomly divided into experimental group (EG) (n=38) and control group (CG) (n=35). The subjects in EG group underwent an eight-week myofeedback training. Subjects in both groups followed the same treatment schedule for physical therapy and routine medication. Before the beginning of the experimental protocol and 8 weeks later， serum BDNF levels were measured， neurological function was assessed with the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS)， motor function was assessed with simplified Fugl-Meyer Motor Assessment (FMA). Results After 8 weeks， the NIHSS scores were reduced， the serum BDNF levels were elevated and the FMA were improved in the both groups (P＜0.01). While the changes were more significant in the EG group when compared to the CG group(P＜0.05). In addition， in EG group， the variations in NIHSS and FMA were both positively correlated with the changes of serum BDNF levels (r=0.405，0.672；P＜0.05). Conclusions Operant-conditioning myofeedback therapy combined with conventional rehabilitation therapy may up-regulate the serum BDNF levels， which is beneficial to the recovery of neurological function and improve motor function of patients with cerebral infarction.