This study aimed to observe the preventive potential of different hydration solutions on contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) after percutaneous coronary intervention. We initially screened 627 patients who were admitted to the Division of Cardiology, Beijing Anzhen Hospital between October 2010 and October 2011. The research subjects were randomly divided into four groups and were given: normal physiological saline (PS), sodium bicarbonate (SB), oral administration of PS + N-acetylcysteine (NAC) (PS + NAC), or oral administration of SB + NAC (SB + NAC). These patients were administered a hypotonic nonionic contrast agent, and the incidence of CIN in each group was observed. The total incidence rate of CIN was 4.47 %, while the CIN incidence rates in the PS group, the SB group, the PS + NAC group and the SB + NAC group were 3.11, 5.03, 4.46 and 5.33 %, respectively. The differences between these groups were not statistically significant (P = 0.238), and for patients with diabetes and/or renal dysfunction, the incidence rates of CIN among the four groups did not show statistically significant differences (P = 0.238, 0.156, 0.287). Use of PS, SB, and NAC caused no significant reduction in the incidence of CIN, but in high-risk patients with diabetes and/or renal dysfunction, SB + NAC might be superior to the application of isotonic crystalloid solution.