Abstract: Objective To study the effect of hydroxyl camptothecinum on human pancreatic cancer cell apoptosis in vitro. Methods :SW-1990 ce-ll line were treated with hydroxyl camptothecinum at different concentrations.cell apoptosis was evaluated by electric microscopy,flow cytom-etry and in situ TUNEL(TdT-mediated dUTP-X nick end labeling). Results The apoptosis rate of Pancreatic cell treatet with hydroxyl cam-ptothecintm at the concentration of 0.05mg/ml for 20 hours is between 13.2%-15.3%,mainly at the early and middle morphological stage.At the concentration of 0.lmg/ml,the rate is between 26.1%-30.4%,mainly at late stage. Conclusion hydroxyl camptothecinum is a potential agent for pancreatic cancer chemotherpy.