Objective to study the effect of curcumin on tumor necrosis factor α(tNF-α)-induced osteoblast apoptosis. Methods Primary osteo-blast cells were divided into three groups:control group(no treated),group treated with tNF-α(treated with tNF-α for 24 h),and group pretreated with curcumin(treated with curcumin for 2 h,and then treated with tNF-α for 24 h). Western blot analysis was carried out with primary antibodies against caspase-2,caspase-3,caspase-8,Bcl-2,Fas,and tRAIL. Apoptosis cells were observed by immunofluorescence microscope. Results In group treated with tNF-α,the protein levels of caspase-2,caspase-3,caspase-8,Fas,and tRAIL increased(P < 0.01),whereas the protein level of Bcl-2 remained unchanged(P > 0.05). In group pretreated with curcumin,the protein levels of caspase-2,caspase-3,caspase-8,Fas,and tRAIL were lower than those in group treated with tNF-α(P < 0.01). the number of apoptotic cells was dramatically increased after the administration of tNF-α. While the number of apoptotic cells decreased in the presence of curcumin. Conclusion the present study clearly demonstrated that cur-cumin can suppress osteoblast apoptosis induced by tNF-α.