Surgical trauma leads to a severe deterioration of the immune system. Electroacupuncture (EA) may improve the immunodeficiency that occurs following surgery; however, the underlying signaling mechanisms require further study. In the present study, 40 rats were equally randomized into four groups: Control; Control + EA; Trauma; Trauma + EA. EA was applied at the 'Zusanli' (ST36) and 'Lanwei' (Extra37) acupoints, immediately following surgery. The splenic T cells were isolated from the rats 24 h after surgery. The apoptotic rate of the lymphocytes was measured by flow cytometric analysis, and western blotting was used to determine the protein expression levels of caspase-3, caspase-8, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and TNF receptor 1 (TNFR1). The DNA binding activity of nuclear factor (NF)-κB was determined using Trans-AM® ELISA-based kits. The results of the present study showed that surgical trauma induced apoptosis of splenic lymphocytes, and significantly increased the protein expression levels of caspase-3 and caspase-8. This was accompanied by increased expression levels of TNF-α and TNFR1, and a marked reduction in the activity of NF-κB in splenic T cells. Administration of EA significantly decreased the expression levels of caspase-3, caspase-8, TNF-α and TNFR1, elevated the activity of NF-κB, and suppressed the apoptotic rate of the lymphocytes. The data suggests that EA may inhibit the apoptosis of splenic lymphocytes induced by surgical trauma, and ameliorate the postoperative immunosuppression. This may be mediated by the downregulation of TNF-α expression levels and upregulation of the activity of NF-κB.