Orexins including two peptides, orexin‐A and orexin‐B, are produced in the posterior lateral hypothalamus. Much evidence has indicated that central orexinergic systems play numerous functions including energy metabolism, feeding behavior, sleep/wakefulness, and neuroendocrine and sympathetic activation. Morphological studies have shown that the hippocampal CA1 regions receive orexinergic innervation originating from the hypothalamus. Positive orexin‐1 (OX 1 ) receptors are detected in the CA1 regions. Previous behavioral studies have shown that microinjection of OX 1 receptor antagonist into the hippocampus impairs acquisition and consolidation of spatial memory. However, up to now, little has been known about the direct electrophysiological effects of orexin‐A on hippocampal CA1 neurons. Employing multibarrel single‐unit extracellular recordings, the present study showed that micropressure administration of orexin‐A significantly increased the spontaneous firing rate from 2.96 ± 0.85 to 8.45 ± 1.86 Hz ( P < 0.001) in 15 out of the 23 hippocampal CA1 neurons in male rats. Furthermore, application of the specific OX 1 receptor antagonist SB‐334867 alone significantly decreased the firing rate from 4.02 ± 1.08 to 2.11 ± 0.58 Hz in 7 out of the 17 neurons ( P < 0.05), suggesting that endogenous orexinergic systems modulate the firing activity of CA1 neurons. Coapplication of SB‐334867 completely blocked orexin‐A–induced excitation of hippocampal CA1 neurons. The PLC pathway may be involved in activation of OX 1 receptor–induced excitation of CA1 neurons. Taken together, the present study's results suggest that orexin‐A produces excitatory effects on hippocampal neurons via OX 1 receptors. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.