Objective To investigate the effect and mechanism of RNA interference targeting Rab23 on proliferation and apoptosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cell line Huh7, and provide a new pathway for gene therapy of HCC and its recurrence and metastasis. Methods The Huh7 cells were cultured in vitro,and the MTT assay was used to examine the antiproliferative effect of siRNA. Flow cytom-etry (FCM) was used to examine the effects of Rab23 silencing on apoptosis of Huh7 cells. Results Compared with the negative and blank control groups,the transfeetion group showed a marked decrease of proliferation at 16,24 and 48 h,and apoptosis rate of Huh7 cells was about 28% at 48 h after Rab23 was silenced by siRNA. Conclusion Rab23 is essential for the maintaining of HCC cell proliferation. Silen-cing Rab23 can inhibit the growth of HCC cells and induce apoptosis. Key words: Carcinoma; hepatoeellular cell ; siRNA; Signal transduction; Apoptosis