Objective To research the action mechanism of Chinese FormulaXuetongling on MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer cell invasion.Methods Transwell Invasion assay was applied to investigate the inhibitory effects on cancer cell invasion ofXuetongling extract in different concentrations;MMP-9 secretion activity was detected by zymography assay after the treatment of XTL extract in MDA-MB-231;Western blot was used to detect the effect of XTL extract on MMP-9 protein expression in MDA-MB-231.ResultsXuetongling extract in different concentrations significantly suppressed the cell invasion, MMP-9 secretion and MMP-9 protein expression in dose dependent manner.Conclusion The inhibitory effect ofXuetongling on MDA-MB-231 cell invasion may be due to the down-regulation of both MMP-9 secretion and MMP-9 protein expression.