Abstract: OBJECTIVE To explore the effect of San Huang decoction on the apoptosis of breast cancer cells and the effect on the mRNA and protein expression and function of Aurora kinase A and discuss the underlying mechanism of San Huang induced apoptosis. METHODS The inhibition of breast cancer cells proliferation was determined by CCK-8 assay. The apoptosis of breast cancer cells was detected by AnnexinV-FITC/PI Staining. The expression of mRNA of Aurora A was examined by q-PCR analysis. The expression of apoptosis-related proteins and Aurora A were determined by Western Blot analysis. RESULTS San Huang decoction inhibited the proliferation of breast cancer cells in a does-dependent manner(P<0.05). The effect of inhibition caused by San Huang decoction 48 hours after delivering to breast cancer cells was better than 24 hours(P<0.05) ， although similar as 72 hours(P>0.05). San Huang decoction was also found to induce apoptosis in both MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cell lines in a dose-dependent manner. Consistent with cellular results， San Huang decoction treatment significantly increased the apoptosis-related protein level of cleaved-PARP(c-PARP)， cleaved-Caspase 3(c-Caspase 3) and Bax， down-regulated Bcl-2 in a does-dependent manner. Meanwhile， San Huang decoction decreased the mRNA and protein level of Aurora A and increased those of p53 in a does-dependent manner. CONCLUSION San Huang decoction at the first time was able to promote the apoptosis of breast cancer cells via inducing the suppression of Aurora A.