Objective: To date, no novel drug therapies have proven effective in improving outcomes after intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). This has been slowed, in part, by a lack of reliable preclinical models that recapitulate the pathophysiological consequences of ICH. Limited descriptions of the methodology of preclinical models may play a role in this failed translation. The current study aimed to improve the autologous blood injection model of ICH and provide a comprehensive methodology to facilitate a reliable preclinical model that bridges the translational research gap. Methods: A modified single-injection protocol for an autologous-blood ICH model was developed and tested. This rodent ICH model produces injury in the basal ganglia of adult rats via a stereotaxically-assisted right-sided single-injection of fresh autologous whole blood.