Objective To explore the effects of emodin on proliferation and apoptosis of human glioma cells SHG44.Methods The cultured SHG44 cells were treated with 10,20,40 and 80μmol/L emodin in experimental groups,respectively,but not treated in control group.The inhibitive effect of emodin on SHG44 cell proliferation was detected by MTT assay,cell apoptosis was detected by flow cytometry, and the relative activity of caspase-3 was detected by colorimetry.Results Compared with control group,emodin significantly inhibited the proliferation of SHG44 cells in a dose-dependent and time-dependent manner,and the CI_(50)(48 h) of emodin was 24.79μmol/L.Flow cytometry analysis showed that emodin dose-dependently induced the apoptosis in SHG44 cells after 12 h treatment(P 0.05).The relative activity of caspase-3 was elevated time-dependently after emodin treatment(P 0.05).Conclusion Emodin can inhibit the proliferation of glioma cells SHG44 and induce the apoptosis in SHG44 cells,which may be related to the caspase-3 activation.