Abstract：Objective：To discuss the effect of aloe-emodin regulating autophagy of hepatoma cells by B-cell lymphoma- 2(Bcl- 2)- related X protein(Bax)/Cysteine aspartic acid protease- 3(Caspase- 3) signaling pathway. Methods： Hepatoma SMMC- 7721 cells were selected and divided into the SMMC- 7721 group，the 5- fluorouracil group，as well as the aloeemodin groups of low-dose and high-dose(the low-dose group and the high-dose group). In the 5-fluorouracil group， 5-fluorouracil was added to the final concentration of 80 μg/mL，and in the low-dose and high-dose groups，aloe-emodin was added to the final concentration of 100 μg/mL and 200 μg/mL respectively. Six parallel samples were set in each group and cultured for 72 hours. After experiment， the level of cell proliferation was detected by MTT method； the level of cell autophagy was observed via acridine orange staining；the level of cell apoptosis was detected by flow cytometry；the levels of gene and protein of Bax and Caspase- 3 were detected via RT- PCR and Western blot method. Results：Compared with those in the SMMC- 7721 group，in other groups，the rates of cell survival were decreased(P＜0.05)，and the number of autophagosome，apoptosis rate，and the expression levels of mRNA and protein of Bax and Caspase-3 were increased(P＜ 0.05). Compared with those in the low- dose group， in the high- dose group， the rate of cell survival was decreased(P＜ 0.05)， and the number of autophagosome， apoptosis rate， and the expression levels of mRNA and protein of Bax and Caspase- 3 were increased(P＜0.05). Compared with those in the 5- fluorouracil group， in the low- dose and high- dose groups， the rates of cell survival were increased(P＜0.05)， and the number of autophagosome， apoptosis rate， and the expression levels of mRNA and protein of Bax and Caspase- 3 were decreased(P＜0.05). Conclusion： Aloe- emodin can significantly inhibit the proliferation of hepatoma SMMC- 7721 cells， induce their autophagy and apoptosis， whose mechanism is related to its promotion to the expression levels of mRNA and protein of Bax and Caspase-3.