Pre‐treatment with reversible acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitors before organophosphorous compound (OPC) exposure can reduce OPC‐induced mortality. However, pyridostigmine, the only substance employed for such prophylaxis, is merely efficacious against a limited number of OPCs. In search of more efficacious and broad‐range alternatives, we have compared in vivo the ability of five reversible AChE inhibitors (pyridostigmine, physostigmine, ranitidine, tacrine and K‐27) to reduce mortality induced by the OPC azinphos‐methyl. Protection was quantified using Cox analysis by determining the relative risk (RR) of death in rats that were administered these AChE inhibitors in equitoxic dosage (25% of LD01) 30 min before azinphos‐methyl exposure. Azinphos‐methyl‐induced mortality was significantly reduced by all five tested compounds as compared with the reference group that was only exposed to azinphos‐methyl without prior pre‐treatment (RR = 1). The most efficacious prophylactic agents were K‐27 (RR = 0.15) and physostigmine (RR = 0.21), being significantly more efficacious than ranitidine (RR = 0.62) and pyridostigmine (RR = 0.37). Pre‐treatment with tacrine (RR = 0.29) was significantly more efficacious than pre‐treatment with ranitidine, but the difference between tacrine and pyridostigmine was not significant. Our results indicate that prophylactic administration of the oxime K‐27 may be a promising alternative in cases of imminent OPC exposure. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.