Objective:To investigate the anti-tumor activity and molecular mechanism of Tonglian Decoction(通莲汤,TLD) on esophageal carcinoma Eca109 cells.Methods:Eca109 cells were treated with TLD and its separated formulae,including the clearing-heat and detoxification formula(Q),activating-blood and promoting-qi formula(H) and nourishing-yin and blood formula(Z).Cell proliferation was measured using the 3-(4,5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2,5-diphenyl-2-H-tetrazolium bromide assay,cell morphology was observed using a microscope,the cell cycle was measured using flow cytometry and the activity of the nuclear factor-kappa B(NF-κB) signal pathway was detected by Western blot.Results:The half maximal inhibitory concentrations of TLD,Q and H were 386,771 and 729 mg/L,respectively.TLD,Q and H significantly inhibited cell proliferation,with 69.43%,60.84%and 61.90%of treated cells in the G1 phase of the cell cycle.The percentage of cells in S phase increased significantly after treatment with TLD,Q,and H compared with the control group(P<0.05),and TLD showed the strongest effect.Z had no influence on the cell cycle compared with the control group(P>0.05).Western blot detection indicated slight differences in the inhibition of the NF- k B pathway by the different formulae.TLD formula strongly inhibited IKKβ,NF-κB,interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-α expression compared with the control group.Conclusions:TLD inhibited Eca109 cell proliferation by arresting cells in S phase.The possible mechanism might be related to inhibiting the NF- κB transduction cascade.The combination of the herbs found in the three separate formulae,H,Q and Z,work synergistically in TLD to produce the inhibitory effects of TLD treatment on Eca109 proliferation. Objective: To investigate the anti-tumor activity and molecular mechanism of Tonglian Decoction (TLD) on esophageal carcinoma Eca109 cells. Methods: Eca109 cells were treated with TLD and its separated formulae, including the clearing-heat and detoxification formula ( Activating-blood and promoting-qi formula (H) and nourishing-yin and blood formula (Z). Cell proliferation was measured using the 3- (4,5-dimethyl- 2-thiazolyl) -2,5-diphenyl -2-H-tetrazolium bromide assay, cell morphology was observed using a microscope, the cell cycle was measured using flow cytometry and the activity of the nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) signal pathway was detected by Western blot. Results: The half maximal inhibitory concentrations of TLD, Q and H were 386,771 and 729 mg / L, respectively. TLD, Q and H significantly inhibited cell proliferation, with 69.43%, 60.84% ​​and 61.90% of treated cells in the G1 phase of the cell cycle. percentage of cells in S phase increased significantly after treatment with TLD, Q, and H Compared with the control group (P <0.05), and TLD showed the strongest effect. Z Had no influence on the cell cycle compared with the control group (P> 0.05). Western blot detection indicated slight differences in the inhibition of the NF- k B pathway by the different formula. TLD formula strongly inhibited IKKβ, NF-κB, interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-α expression compared with the control group. Conclusions: TLD inhibited Eca109 cell proliferation by arresting cells in S phase.The possible mechanism might be related to inhibiting the NF-κΒ transduction cascade. combination of the herbs found in the three separate formulae, H, Q and Z, work synergistically in TLD to produce the inhibitory effects of TLD treatment on Eca109 proliferation.