[Abstract] Objective: To study the role of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) in vitamin E succinate (VES) activating endoplasmic reticulum stress-induced autophagy in human gastric SGC-7901 cells. Methods: SGC-7901 cells were treated with different doses of VES (5, 10, 15, 20 μg/ml) for 24 h, then, qPCR and WB were used to detect the mRNA and protein expressions of autophagy markers LC3 and Beclin-1; Under the action of reticulum stress inhibitor 4-PBA, the fluorescence intensity and distribution of LC3 were observed under laser confocal microscope, and then qPCR was used to detect the mRNA expression of endoplasmic reticulum stress markers GRP78, GRP94 and autophagy markers LC3, Beclin-1. Under the action of the JNK inhibitor SP600125, WB was used to detect the protein expression changes of p-JNK and autophagy marker proteins LC3 and Beclin-1. Results: Compared with the control group, with the increase of the concentration of VES, the mRNA and protein expressions of Beclin-1 and LC3 showed a gradual increase (all P < 0.05), and LC3-Ⅱ/LC3-Ⅰ ratio also increased significantly (P < 0.01); compared with 20 μg/ml VES group, after pretreatment with endoplasmic reticulum stress inhibitor 4-PBA, mRNA expressions of GRP78, GRP94, LC3 and Beclin-1 decreased (all P < 0.01), and the intensity of LC3 punctate aggregation decreased; after pretreatment with JNK inhibitor SP600125, the protein expression levels of p-JNK, LC3 and Beclin-1 were lower than those of 20 μg/ml VES group (all P < 0.01), these results indicated that inhibition of JNK activity could inhibit the occurrence of autophagy. Conclusion: VES can induce autophagy in SGC-7901cells by activating endoplasmic reticulum stress, and JNK participates in the regulation process of endoplasmic reticulum stress on autophagy.