Objective To explore the effects of proglumide, a gastrin receptor antagonist, on the amount of viable cells, synthesis of DNA and protein, and cell proliferation cycle in human large intestine carcinoma SW480 cell line in order to provide experimental basis for treatment of large intestine carcinoma using proglumide.Methods Large intestine carcinoma SW480 cells at logarithmic growth stage were cultivated with different concentrations of proglumide for different periods of time, then the amount of viable cells was determined by MTT colorimetric analysis. The SW480 cells were cultivated with proglumide, pentagastrin, proglumide+pentagastrin for the same period of time, then the contents of DNA and protein and the cell proliferation cycle were determined by flow-cytometry.Results The amount of viable cells, synthesis of DNA and protein, distribution of cell cycle, and proliferation index (PI) in the proglumide group did not differ significantly from those in the pentagastrin group (P>0.05). The amount of viable cells in the pentagastrin group was significantly higher than that in the pentagastrin group (P<0.01). In the proglumide+pentagastrin group the amount of viable cells, synthesis of DNA and protein, amount of S and G2M phase cells, and PI were all significantly lower than those in the pentagastrin group (all P<0.01), and the amount of G0/G1 phase cells was significantly higher than that in the pentagastrin group (P<0.01), but none of the above differed from those in the control group (all P>0.05).Conclusions Proglumide has no obvious effect on the growth of human large intestine carcinoma SW480 cell line, but can inhibit the growth-promoting effect of pentagastrin on large intestine carcinoma cells. The mechanism may be that proglumide inhibits the promoting effect of pentagastrin on the synthesis of DNA and protein of carcinoma cells, and then inhibits carcinoma cell growth from G0/G1 phase to S and G2M phase.