Objective To investigate the inhibitory effect of dauricine on the growth of human bladder cancer T-24 cell and its mechanism.Methods The T-24 cells were treated with dauricine(Dau) at different concentrations.The proliferation of T-24 cells was assayed with MTT colorimetric method.The apoptosis of T-24 cells induced by Dau was studied by fluorescent staining,flow cytometry(FCM) and DNA agarose gel electrophoresis.Results Dau effectively inhibited the proliferation of T-24 cells in a concentration dependent manner.A characteristic DNA ladder was observed in Dau treated groups.Dau at the concentration of 5-30 ?g/ml induced the apoptosis of T-24 cells and the apoptosis rate increased in a time-dependeut manner.Cell cycle was arrested at G_0/G_1 phase.The expression of bcl-2 was inhibited and the expression of bax was up-regulated.Conclusion Dauricine significantly inhibits the growth of bladder cancer cells.Cell cycle arrest and apoptosis might be the functional mechanisms.