Abstract  Objective  To explore the biological function of different concentrations of curcumin on human renal carcinoma cell line 769-P, and to investigate its mechanisms. Methods  Human renal carcinoma cell line 769-P in vitro was cultured, then different concentration of curcumin for 24 hours was treated respectively. The MTT assay was used to measure the inhibition effect of curcumin on cell proliferation. The inverted microscope was utilized to observe the microscopic morphology of cell. Cell scratch method was used to detect the migration of cell .The expression of Caspase-3 and AIF protein were evaluated by Western Blot. The expressions of AIF and Bax mRNA were evaluated by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. Results   MTT results showed that curcumin could significantly inhibit the proliferation of human renal carcinoma cell line 769-P, with dose-and time- dependent effects. Inverted microscope results showed that curcumin could change the morphological feature of renal carcinoma cell line, with typical apoptotic morphological feature such as nuclear shrinkage, nuclear burst, nuclear swelling and so on. Cell scratch results showed that curcumin inhibit  the renal carcinoma cell migration. RT-PCR results showed that curcumin upregulated the expression of BAX and AIF mRNA level. Western Blot results showed that curcumin promoted the activation of caspase-3 and AIF protein, so as to promote the apoptosis.Conclusions   Curcumin can significantly inhibit the proliferation of human renal carcinoma cell and promoted its apoptosis. This biological effect may be related to the activation of Bax and AIF and activation of caspase-3 signaling pathways.