ABSTRACT:OBJECTIVE:The aim of the investigation was to verify that simultaneously blocking both EGFR and mTOR mediated pathways may be an efficient way to inhibit cell growth in nasopharyngeal carcinoma. METHODS:The effect of cell growth inhibition through a combination of EGFRselective tyrosine kinase inhibitor Tarceva and mTOR inhibitor Rapamycin was evaluated. Cell growth assay and flow cytometric analysis were applied to assessing the cell cycle and apoptosis in both CNE1 and CNE2 cell lines. RESULTS:① Tarceva and Rapamycin demonstrated a concentration dependent antiproliferative effect on both CNE1 and CNE2 cell lines(P<0.05). ② The inhibition rate of cell growth in the group treated with a combination of two agents was higher than the sum of that in the two groups treated with only one agent (P<0.05). ③ The combination of Tarceva and Rapamycin significantly induced G1 cell arrest (P<0.05) and increased apoptosis rate（P<0.05) compared with the groups treated with single agent and the control group. CONCLUSION:Results of the investigation suggest that a combination of Tarceva and Rapamycin induced cell growth inhibition in a synergistic way, which may be resulted from the increased rates of G1 cell arrest and apoptosis.