This study aim to explore the effect of lycorine on apoptosis and autophagy of gastric cancer SGC-7901 cells through ERK pathway.CCK-8 method was used to test the inhibitory effect of lycorine on the proliferation of SGC-7901 cells.Hoechest staining was used to observe the change of apoptotic morphology.Flow cytometry was used to detect apoptosis.MDC staining was used to test the effect of lycorine on SGC-7901 autophagy.Western blot detected the effects of lycorine on autophagy and apoptotic protein Beclin-1,LC3 II,Atg-3,Atg-7,p-ERK2,and Bcl-2,Bax,cleaved caspase-3 in SGC-7901 cells.autophagy inhibitors (3-MA) were used to study the effects of autophagy on cell proliferation and apoptosis.The results showed lycorine significantly inhibited the proliferation of SGC-7901 cells (P<0.05),and showed a certain time-and concentration-dependent relationship.Hoechest staining and flow cytometry showed that lycorine promoted apoptosis.MDC staining showed that lycosine promoted the formation of acidic autophagic vesicles.Western blot results showed that lycorine reduced the protein protein of Bcl-2 while increased the protein protein of Bax,cleaved caspase-3,and up-regulated the protein expression of Beclin-1,LC3 II,Atg-3,Atg-7,and p-ERK2 (P<0.05).Compared with the 5 μM lycosine group,the cell viability and apoptosis rate in the 3-MA+lycorine group were significantly increased (P<0.05).Compared with the 5 μM lycorine group,the protein expression of caspase-3,LC3II,and p-ERK2 in the 3-MA+lycorine group cleaved were significantly down-regulated (P<0.05).In summary,lycorine can induce cell autophagy and apoptosis through ERK signaling pathway.