Objective To study the effect of survivin anfisense oligonucleotides (ASODN)combined with quercetin on proliferation, apoptosis and cell cycle of a hepatocellular carcinoma cell line SSMC-7721 cells. Methods Human hepatocellular carcinoma cell line SSMC-7721 was cultured in vitro,and cells on logarithmic growth phase were used for this experiment. Cell proliferation was measured by MTT assay. The apoptotic rate and cell cycle were examined by flow cytometer (FCM). Morphological change of apoptotic cells were observed by fluorescent microscope. The expression of survivin gene was detected by the method of immunohistochemistry staining and RT-PCR on the mRNA and protein level. Results After sealing survivin gene with ASODN, the proliferation of SSMC-7721 cells was inhibited markedly. FCM analysis showed that there appeared an obvious apoptosis peak after transfection. The inhibitory effect of combined administration of survivin ASODN and quercetin on cell proliferation was much stronger than that of the single way. The result of immunohistochemical and RT-PCR assays showed that survivin ASODN and quercetin inhibited the expression of survivin gene. Conclusion Combined survivin ASODN with quercetin significantly inhibit cell proliferation, down-regulate survivin gene expression and induce the apoptosis of SSMC-7721 cells.