OBJECTIVE： To study the effects of 3 extracts of Acanthopanax sessiliflorus fruits on the proliferation and apoptosis of human hepatocarcinoma cells SMMC-7721， and to provide reference for confirming the mechanism of anti-tumor effect. METHODS： MTT assay was adopted to investigate the effects of low-mass concentration， medium-mass concentration and high-mass concentration of ethanol extract （0.92， 1.84， 3.68 mg/mL）， crude polysaccharide extract （0.06， 0.12， 0.24 mg/mL） and refined polysaccharide extract （0.04， 0.08， 0.16 mg/mL） from A. sessiliflorus fruits on the proliferation and apoptosis of SMMC-7721 cells after treated for 24， 36， 48 h， respectively. Flow cytometry was used to investigate the effects of 1.84 mg/mL ethanol extract， 0.24 mg/mL crude polysaccharide extract and 0.16 mg/mL refined polysaccharide extract on cell cycle and cell apoptosis after treated for 24 h. The above tests were all negative control （only adding cells without drugs）. RESULTS： Compared with negative control， 3 extracts of A. sessiliflorus fruits could significantly inhibit the proliferation of SMMC-7721 cells （P＜0.01）， could significantly decrease the percentage of SMMC-7721 cells in G0/G1 and G2/M phase （P＜0.01）， could significantly increase the percentage of SMMC-7721 cells in S phase （P＜0.01） and the apoptosis rate of SMMC-7721 cells （P＜0.05）； especially the effects of ethanol extract from A. sessiliflorus fruits were the most obvious. CONCLUSIONS： Three extracts of A. sessiliflorus fruits can inhibit the proliferation of human hepatocarcinoma SMMC-7721 cells， block SMMC-7721 cells in S phase and induce the apoptosis of SMMC-7721 cells.