Abstract Objective To study the apoptosis induction and cell cycle effect of Meloxicam on laryngeal carcinoma cell line Hep2 and the possible mechanism. Methods Hep2 cell was cultured and randomly divided into experimental group and control group. At different time points after culturation, the apoptosis induced by Meloxicam and the influence on cell cycle in Hep2 were observed by flow cytometry. At the same time, the changes of mitochondrial membrane potential in Hep2 were detected. Results Flow cytometry analysis showed that Meloxicam induced apoptosis of Hep2 in a concentrationdependent manner. The cell number of G1 phase in the experimental group was significantly higher than that of the control group (P<0.05). The mitochondrial membrane potential of the experimental group decreased significantly (P<0.05). Conclusion Meloxicam can significantly induce apoptosis and inhibit differentiation of Hep2 cell via a possible mechanism to initiate mitochondrial apoptosis. 