Objective To investigate the effects of salvia miltiorrhiza on c-fos and c-jun gene expression in hepatic stellate cells (HSCs).Methods HSCs were cultured in medium containing different concentrations of salvia miltiorrhiza (0.8 and 0.4 g/L) and harvested at different incubation periods (8,24,48 and 72 h).Total RNA of HSCs was isolated,and the expression levels of c-fos and c-jun genes were detected by using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction.Results C-fos gene expression levels of HSC in two salvia miltiorrhiza-treated groups were significantly lower than those in control group (0.63 ±0.13,0.50 ± 0.12,0.43± 0.06,0.32 ± 0.04) after exposure to salvia miltiorrhiza at 8 h (0.30±0.08,0.48±0.11),24h (0.26±0.09,0.43±0.10),48h (0.20±0.06,0.36±0.09) and 72 h (0.13 ±0.04,0.23±0.06).C-jun gene expression levels of HSCs in two salvia miltiorrhiza-treated groups were also significantly lower than those in control group (0.93 ±0.13,0.80 ±0.12,0.63±0.10,0.46 ± 0.07) after exposure to salvia miltiorrhiza at 8 h (0.43± 0.12,0.69 ± 0.14),24 h (0.38 ±0.09,0.56±0.10),48h (0.27±0.08,0.46 ±0.10) and 72 h (0.20±0.04,0.34 ±0.06).The c-fos and c-jun gene expression levels of HSCs were decreased gradually as the dosage of salvia miltiorrhiza increased and there were significant differences in c-fos andc-jun gene expression between two salvia miltiorrhiza-treated groups.Conclusion Salvia miltiorrhiza may down-regulate c-fos and c-jun gene expression in HSCs.