Objective To study the effects of 17997 on the HSV- 1 DNA and protein synthesis. Meth-ods DNA synthesis was determined by isopycnic separation of cellular and viral DNA in CsCl gradients centrlfu-gation. Protein synthesis was determined by SDS- PAGE and Western Blot. Results The inhibition rates of 0.5μ moL/L, 1.0 μmol/L,2.0 μmol/L and 4.0 μmol/L of 17997 on HSV - 1 DNA synthesis were 63.1% ,74.1%,93.9% and 100% respectively .4.0 μ mol/L of 17997 did not inhibit VERO cell DNA synthesis. The above con-centrations of 17997 did not show any inhibitory effects on cellular protein synthesis.but selectivily inhibited on vi-ral protein synthesis. Conclusion 17997 selectively displayed inhibitive effects on HSV - 1 DNA and protein syn-thesis.