Objective    To investigate the effects of over physiological dose of dexamethasone on cervical carcinoma cell xenografted tumors in nude mouse.     Methods    HeLa cells were inoculated subcutaneously in BALB/c female mice aged  5-6 weeks. Over physiological dose of dexamethasone (62.5 mg·kg

-1

·d

-1

) was injected into the peritoneum from the 16th day after inoculation for 10 d. Diameters of tumor were measured every two or three days．The volumes and the inhibition rates

of tumor were calculated. Apoptotic bodies were observed by transmission electron microscopy and counted by TUNEL.  VEGF and TNF-α were detected by immunohistochemistry.     Results    In vivo， over physiological dose of dexamethasone can repress the growth of tumor and induce cell apoptosis. Compared with the control group

the tumor sizes were significantly smaller （P0.01） with 73.99% inhibition rates

the number of apoptotic bodies were significantly increased （P0.01） and VEGF were reduced （P0.01）.  But no difference was found between the two groups in TNF-α （P0.05）.    Conclusion    Over physiological dose of dexamethasone can repress cervical tumor growth in vivo. This action may be related to apoptosis and VEGF

but have no relationship with TNF-α.