Aim To observe the effect of vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF) on the apoptosis and the expression of Fas mRNA and Bcl-2 mRNA in human umbilical vein endothelial cell(hUVEC). Methods hUVEC were randomly divided into three groups: control group,hydrogen peroxide group and hydrogen peroxide + VEGF group.After 12 hours,the apoptosis of hUVEC was determined by flow cytometry(FCM) and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase biotin-dUTP nick end labeling(TUNEL),the expression of Bcl-2 mRNA and Fas mRNA were examined by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR). Results Apoptosis number in hydrogen peroxide group was higher than that in control group(27.83±2.14 vs 2.50±1.05,p<0.01).However,in hydrogen peroxide+VEGF group,apoptosis number was lower than that in hydrogen peroxide group(13.00±2.10 vs 27.83±2.14,p<0.01).Apoptosis rate in hydrogen peroxide group was higher than that in control group (14.17%±0.45% vs 1.55%±0.87%,p<0.01) and in hydrogen peroxide+VEGF group(14.17%±0.45% vs 5.69%±0.38%,p<0.01).Compared with control group,hydrogen peroxide markedly increased Fas mRNA expression(94.50%±3.45% vs 21.17%±1.17%,p<0.01) and decreased Bcl-2 mRNA expression(23.17%±1.17% vs 85.17%±1.47%,p<0.01).Compared with hydrogen peroxide group,VEGF significantly decreased Fas mRNA expression((40.67%)±2.16% vs 94.50%±3.45%,p<0.01) and increased Bcl-2 mRNA expression(60.33%±1.75% vs 23.17%±1.17%,p<0.01). Conclusions VEGF can inhibit the apoptosis induced by hydrogen peroxide in HUVEC,which may correlated with upregulation Bcl-2 mRNA expression and inhibiting Fas mRNA expression.