Cytosinearabinoside(Ara-C) is an important agent used for treatment of leukemia, but its mechanism of action at low dose is not clear, maybe is related to its effectson differentiationor apoptosis of cells. The authors investigate The relationship between bcl-2, p53 expression and apoptosis of HL-60 cells induced by low-dose cytosinearabinoside (10~(-8)M) by means of TUNEL method, flow cytometry, immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization. The results show that low-doseAra-C could inhibit cell growth and induce apoptosis, and the effects might be related to increase of P53protein and decrease of bcl-2 mRNA expression.