The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect and the mechanism of natural borneol (NB) on the proliferation,apoptosis and migration of cervical cancer cells.The phenotypic changes of cells were observed and recorded by inverted microscope,and found NB could significantly alter the morphology of SiHa and HeLa cells,which causing the cells turn to round and loose the intercellular connection.CCK-8 assay and colony formation assay showed that NB significantly inhibited SiHa and HeLa cells proliferation and colony formation.Flow cytometry results showed that NB induced cell apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner.Transwell and scratch assay showed that NB could inhibit the invasion and migration of SiHa and HeLa cells.Western blot results demonstrated that NB downregulated the expression of Bcl-2,hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α),Erk1/2,Snail as well as N-cadherin,and upregulated the expression of p-Erk1/2.mRNA sequencing combined with signal pathway enrichment results showed that the mechanism of NB mainly involved in MAPK signaling pathway and cell apoptosis.In conclusion,NB may inhibit the proliferation and migration of cervical cancer cells,induce cell apoptosis through MAPK and HIF-1α signaling pathway.