The pharmacokinetics of paracetamol were studied after oral administration to rats with two different levels of thoracic spinal cord injury (SCI), T1 and T8. Rats were subjected to SCI at T1 and T8 by compression and contusion methods, respectively, resulting in completed flaccid paraplegia, before administration of paracetamol (100 mg kg −1). The concentration of paracetamol in blood was increased in T1‐injured rats (135±20 μg mL−1) and decreased in T8‐injured rats (58±7 mg mL−1), compared with sham‐lesioned controls (101±9 μg mL−1). The localization of SCI alters the pharmacokinetic parameters of paracetamol which may be due to effects on drug absorption and elimination.