Two novel mononaphthalimide homospermidine derivatives (2a, 2b) with three or four methylene unit as linkages weresynthesized and evaluated for cytotoxicity against human leukemia K562, murine melanoma B 16 and Chinese hamster ovary CHOcell lines. The presence of homospermidine motif could greatly elevate the potency of 1,8-naphthalimide. Conjugate 2b with longerspacer exhibited higher in vitro cytotoxicity than 2a. The DNA binding experiments indicated that conjugates 2b could bind toherring sperm DNA. The topoisomerase Ⅱ poison trials revealed that 2b could inhibit the activity of top. Ⅱ.2008 Chao Jie Wang. Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of Chinese Chemical Society. All rights reserved.