Objective To observe the effects of herb-partition moxibustion at navel on the expressions of Bcl-2 and Bax in rats with premature ovarian failure (POF); To explore its mechanism underlying improvement of POF. Methods POF model was established by intraperitoneal injection of cyclophosphamide. Forty-eight Female Wistar rats were randomly divided into normal group, model group, moxibustion group and Western medicine group, with 12 rats in each group. Rats of moxibustion group were treated with herb-partition moxibustion at navel (Shenque, CV8), 30 min/d, once every other day; rats of Western medicine group were given intragastric dose of estradiol valerate, once a day, for 14 d. The protein and mRNA expressions of Bax and Bcl-2 in ovarian granulosa cells were detected by immunohistochemal method, Western blot and qRT-PCR, respectively.Results The weights of ovaries in the model group rats were significantly lower than those in the normal group (P<0.05). The expressions of Bcl-2 and Bax protein in ovarian tissue of each group were mainly expressed brown coloration and in the cytoplasm of cells. The range of Bax protein in granulosa cells of moxibustion group and Western medicine group was significantly less than that in model group. The range of Bcl-2 in moxibustion group and Western medicine group was significantly larger than that in model group. Compared with the normal group, the expressions of Bcl-2 protein and mRNA in the model group rats significantly decreased (P<0.05,P<0.01), and the expression of Bax protein and mRNA significantly increased (P<0.05,P<0.01). The expression level of Bcl-2 protein and mRNA was significantly higher in the moxibustion group and in the western medicine group than that in the model group (P<0.05,P<0.01). The expression level of Bax protein and mRNA in the moxibustion group was significantly lower than that in the model group (P<0.05,P<0.01). ConclusionThe herb-partition moxibustion at navel can improve the function of ovaries by up regulating the expression of Bcl-2 and down regulating the expression of Bax in POF rats model.