Introduction: Following one month of denervation, skeletal muscle loses 62% of its mass and 95% of its maximum force. The purpose was to clarify the mechanisms responsible for the maintenance of muscle mass and force by electrical stimulation of denervated skeletal muscles. Methods: We used an optimized electrical stimulation protocol on denervated hindlimb muscles of rats. The working hypothesis is that electrical stimulation of denervated muscles suppresses the denervation-induced upregulation of the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway, prevents the degradation of total and myofibrillar proteins, thereby maintaining muscle mass and force. Results: We demonstrated that after two weeks of denervation, the losses in muscle mass and force paralleled the decline in total and myofibrillar protein contents, whereas electrical stimulation preserved muscle mass, force, and protein contents. Electrical stimulation of denervated muscles decreased ubiquitination of skeletal muscle proteins, but did not decrease the mRNA levels of components of the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway. Conclusions: Electrical stimulation of denervated muscles decreased ubiquitination of cellular proteins. Suppression of the expression of components of the pathway was not necessary to prevent denervation atrophy of skeletal muscles of rats. The mechanism by which electrical stimulation suppresses the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway was not at the level of gene expression.