This study investig ated the activation of apoptosis and autophagy in CDV infected brain tissues of dogs with acute neurological signs, by determining Cas-3, Cas-8, Cas-9, Bax, Bcl-2, LC3B, and Beclin-1 expression with real-time PCR. The expression levels of Beclin-1 and LC3B, autophagy markers, were significantly up-regulated in comparison with the control group (p < 0.001). The expression levels of apoptotic markers Cas-3, Cas-8, Cas-9 and Bax were slightly up-regulated, but Bcl-2 was slightly down-regulated in contrast to the control group (p < 0.05). Therefore, the autophagy markers were more activated than apoptotic markers in dogs with acute neurological signs. In conclusion, autophagy takes part in the pathogenesis of demyelination in canine distemper. Knowing this may be helpful to create new therapeutic strategies, such as new effective antiviral medicines.