To study the efficacy and side effects of antitumor drug by the method of Raman spectroscopy, the cancerous (SGC-7901) and normal (GES-1) gastric cells were treated with 0, 25-, 100-, and 200-mg/L 5-fluorouracil (5-Fu) for 24 h, respectively, then Raman spectra of cells were recorded. The excitation wavelength was 514.5 nm and the Raman spectra in the region of 500-1800 cm-1 were recorded. For the gastric cancer cells, as the concentration of 5-Fu increases, the band at 1094 cm-1 attributed to the symmetric stretching vibration mode of PO^(2)_(-) in the DNA backbone gradually decreases, and the intensity ratio of the band at 1315 cm-1 to that at 1340 cm-1 (I1315/I1340) shows the ascending trend, and the ratio of the band area at 1655 cm-1 to that at 1450 cm-1 (A1655/A1450) shows the slight ascending trend. For the normal gastric cells, these peaks also appear changes, however, the changes are weaker than those for the cancer cells. In SGC-7901 cells, 5-Fu can interfere with the DNA synthesis and result in the reduction of the DNA content. Besides, it can affect the unsaturation degree of the hydrocarbon chains and alter the external environment of guanine and adenine residues in cancer cells. The changes of Raman spectra for normal gastric cells reveal the side effect of 5-Fu.