Objective To study the type of excitatory of DRG neurons in rats with neuropathic pain. Methods SD rats were randomly divided into normal group, sham operation group and SNI model group. The pain behavior changes of rats were observed by heat and cold stimulation experiments. The patch clamp technique was used to record the changes of excitability types of DRG neurons in different size. Results Compared with the normal group, the cold stimulation time was significantly increased (P?0.05), while no significant change in the thermal paw latency in SNI model group was observed. Compared with the normal group, ratio of type 1 and type 2 DRG neurons were increased while ratio of type 3 cells decreased in the model group (P?0.05). Composition of medium and small cells was lowered than that of large cells in SNI group when compared with those in the normal group (P?0.05). In the SNI model group, the type of medium cell type 3 cells was relatively lower while type 1 and 2 cells was relatively higher compared with large cells (P?0.05). There was no significant difference in the ratio of small cells to large cells among groups (P?>?0.05). Conclusions The changes in excitatory typing of dorsal root ganglion cells with different sizes are potentially the mechanisms of neuropathic pain.