Objective:To investigate the effects of deguelin on the viability and apoptosis of Neuro-2A ( N2A) cells. Methods:The cell viability of N2A cells with the density of 5 × 104 ·ml-1 on the time points of 6, 12, 24, 48 and 72 hours after 1 × 10 -8 mol ·L-1 deguelin treatment using CCK-8 kits was determined, and that on the time point of 48 hours after 0, 1 × 10 -11 , 1 × 10 -10 , 1 × 10 -9 , 1 × 10 -8 , 1 × 10 -7 , 1 × 10 -6 or 5 × 10 -4 mol·L-1 deguelin treatment was also detected. The activity of caspase 3 was deter-mined in N2A cells treated by 2 × 10 -8 mol·L-1 deguelin for 24 hours. Results:N2A cells with the density of 5 × 104 ·ml-1 reached the peak level in the growth curve 48 hours after the incubation in DMEM medium with 10% fetal bovine serum. The cell viability of N2A cells was decreased after the treatment of 1 × 10 -8 mol·L-1 deguelin for 24-72 hours in a time-dependant manner or after the treatment of 1 × 10 -8 ~1 × 10 -6 mol·L-1 deguelin for 48 hours in a dose-dependant manner (P<0. 05) with IC50 of 1. 6 × 10 -8 mol ·L-1 . The activity of caspase 3 was increased after the treatment of 2 × 10 -8 mol·L-1 deguelin for 24 hours, which was 5. 6-fold of that in the control group. Conclusion: Cell viability of N2A cells is inhibited by deguelin in a time- and dose-dependent manner, which may be related to the activity increase of caspase 3.