Aim To study the apoptotic inducing effects of deguelin on SH-SY5Y cells.Methods SH-SY5Y cells were treated with 0,0.625,1.25,2.5,5,10 and 20 μmol·L-1 deguelin for different time(24,48,72 h);cell viability was detected by CCK-8 assay.SH-SY5Y cells were treated with 0,8,20,50 μmol·L-1 deguelin for 24 h;light microscope and AO/EB double stained method were employed for observing the morphology and apoptotic morphology of treated cells.Apoptotic rate of treated cells was determined by flow cytometry.Cells were stained by DCFH-DA,and the whole reactive oxygen species(ROS)was determined by flow cytometry.Spectrophotometry was employed to determine the activation degree of caspase-3.Results Deguelin inhibited cell growth in a time-and dose-dependent manner,and the IC50 value of deguelin was(26.07±2.18),(18.33±0.94),(12.5±1.49)μmol·L-1 when treated with 24,48,72 h respectively.After treated with 8,20,50 μmol·L-1 deguelin for 24 h,cell apoptotic rate,ROS and activation rate of caspase-3 increased markedly(P<0.05),all of which performed a dose related effect.Conclusion Deguelin can inhibit SH-SY5Y cell proliferation and induce cell apoptosis,and the mechanism may be concerned with the elevated ROS and activated caspase-3.