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Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major health problem worldwide. Following primary mechanical insults, a cascade of secondary injuries otfen leads to further neural tissue loss. hTus far there is no cure to rescue the damaged neural tissue. Current therapeutic strategies primarily target the secondary injuries focusing on neuroprotection and neuroregeneration. hTe neurotrophin brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) has signiifcant effect in both aspects, promoting neuronal survival, synaptic plasticity and neurogenesis. Recently, the lfavonoid 7,8-dihydroxylfavone (7,8-DHF), a small TrkB agonist that mimics BDNF function, has shown similar effects as BDNF in promoting neuronal survival and regeneration following TBI. Com-pared to BDNF, 7,8-DHF has a longer half-life and much smaller molecular size, capable of penetrating the blood-brain barrier, which makes it possible for non-invasive clinical application. In this review, we sum-marize functions of the BDNF/TrkB signaling pathway and studies examining the potential of BDNF and 7,8-DHF as a therapy for TBI.