Aim To study the effects of atorvastatin on the apoptosis in human umbilical vein endothelial cells(HUVEC) induced by high glucose and to explore its potential molecular mechanism. Methods The HUVEC were cultured in vitro.Apoptosis of HUVEC were observed by acridine orange/ethidium bromide fluorescence staining.The survival rates of HUVEC were detected by MTT assay after HUVEC were incubated with different glucose concentrations(5.6 mmol/L,17.6 mmol/L,33.3 mmol/L)and atorvastatin concentrations(0.1 μmol/L,1 μmol/L,10 μmol/L)for 24 hours.The early apoptosis rates and the Bcl-2/Bax protein expression were respectively detected by flow cytometry and Western Blotting. Results With the increase in glucose concentration,the values of MTT were significantly reduced(P><0.05).The early apoptosis rates of HUVEC were gradually increased with the increase in glucose concentrations(P><0.05).The 33.3 mmol/L glucose group inhibited the expression of Bcl-2 protein and increased the expression of Bax protein compared with the control group(P><0.05).10 μmol/L atorvastatin decreased early apoptosis rates(P><0.01) and the expression of bax protein(P><0.05),increased the expression of Bcl-2 protein(P><0.05) induced by 33.3 mmol/L glucose. Conclusion Atorvastatin probably inhibit the apoptosis in HUVEC induced by high glucose through regulating the expression of Bcl-2/Bax protein.