Mitochondrial dysfunction has been regarded as one of the major contributors of ischemic neuronal death after stroke. Recently, intercellular mitochondria transfer between different cell types has been widely studied and suggested as a potential therapeutic approach. However, whether mitochondria are involved in the neuron-glia crosstalk following ischemic stroke and the underlying mechanisms have not been explored yet. In this study, we demonstrated that under physiological condition, neurons release few mitochondria into the extracellular space, and the mitochondrial release increased when subjected to the challenges of acidosis, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) or glutamate. Acidosis reduced the mitochondrial basal respiration and lowered the membrane potential in primary cultured mouse cortical neurons. These defective mitochondria were prone to be expelled to the extracellular space by the injured neurons, and were engulfed by adjacent astrocytes, leading to i