Objective To investigate the effects of nordihydroguaiaretic acid(NDGA), a general lipoxygenase inhibitor, on the proliferation and apoptosis of human prostate cancer PC-3 ceils and ex-plore the mechanism. Methods The cultured PC-3 ceils were exposured to NDGA at the different concentrations of 0 (control group), 20, 40, 80 and 160 μmol/L, respectively. The effect of NDGA on growth inhibition and apoptosis inducement were measured with morphometry, MTT and TUNEL as-say. The activity of caspase-3 was determinated with flow cytometry. Results The survival rate of PC-3 cell decreased significantly after treated with 40, 80, 160 μmol/L NDGA. The apoptosis indices of PC-3 cell dealt with 0, 20, 40, 80 and 160 μmol/L NDGA for 48 h were (2.9±0.2)%, (3.2±0.3)%, (68.5±0.8)%, (86.2±0.3)% and (86.9±0.6)%, respectively. When PC-3 cells were treated with 0, 20, 40, 80, 160 μmol/L NDGA for 48 h, the positive rates of activated caspase-3 were (3.9±0.0)%, (4.15±0.1)%, (55.5±0.8)%, (75.1±0.3)%, and (76.3±0.7)%, respectively. Compared with the control group, the apoptosis indices and positive rates of activated caspase-3 in the groups of 40, 80, and 160 μmol/L NDGA increased significantly(P<0.05). Conclusions NDGA can inhibit the growth and induce apoptosis of PC-3 cells. The mechanism may be related with intra-cellular activation of caspase-3.