AIM: To study the expression of p53 protein in nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells(NPC) after the telomerase activity being inhibited. METHODS: After transfecting telomerase RNA antisense oligodeoxynucleotides (asODN) into NPC CNE1 and CNE2Z cells by lipofectin, the proliferation of cells was identified by MTT method, apoptosis was examined by flow cytometric cell cycle analysis, and the expression levels of human teolmerase reverse transcriptase(hTRT) and p53 protein were detected by immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: asODN inhibited the growth of CNE1 and CNE2Z cells in a dose-dependent manner, meanwhile, the apoptotic peaks were detected with flow cytometer.The expression levels of hTRT and p53 protein in asODN group were significantly lower than those in other treatment groups and control group( P