Objective:To observe the protective effects of curcumin on lipopolysaccharide(LPS) induced inflammatory injury in H9c2 cardiac myocytes,and preliminarily explore the potential mechanism. MethodsThe H9c2 cardiac myocytes were divided into the control group,LPS group and curcumin treatment groups. Except the control group,the LPS induced inflammatory injury model in cardiac myocytes was established in the other groups. The cells in the curcumin treatment groups were treated with curcumin at concentrations of 10 μmol/L,20 μmol/L and 40 μmol/L,respectively. After cultured for 24 hours,the survival rate of H9c2 cells was measured by CCK8 kit,the levels of inflammatory cytokines such as IL-6 and TNF-α were detected by ELISA,and the protein expression levels of PI3K,Akt and p-Akt were detected by Western blot. After pre-treatment with 5 μmol/L PI3K inhibitor(LY294002) for 4 hours,the LPS was added into the cells to induce the injury,then the cells were treated with 20 μmol/L curcumin. The survival rate of cells,the levels of inflammatory cytokines and the expression levels of PI3K/Akt pathway related proteins were detected in each group,including the control group,LPS group,LPS+ LY294002 group,LPS+ curcumin group and LY294002+LPS+ curcumin group.  Results:Compared with the control group,the relative survive rate of H9c2 cells was significantly decreased in the LPS group(P<0.05),the IL-6 and TNF-α levels in the cell supernatant were increased significantly(P<0.05),and the protein expressions of PI3K and p-Akt were significantly decreased(P<0.05). Compared with the LPS group,after treatment with curcumin at different concentrations,the relative survive rate of H9c2 cells was significantly increased(P<0.05),the IL-6 and TNF-α levels were significantly decreased(P<0.05),and the protein expressions of PI3K and p-Akt were significantly increased(P<0.05). Compared with the LPS+ curcumin group,after treatment with LY294002,the protective effects of curcumin on LPS induced inflammatory injury in H9c2 cardiac myocytes were significantly reduced,the cell survival rate was obviously decreased in LY294002+LPS+ curcumin group(P<0.05),the levels of IL-6 and TNF-α were significantly increased(P<0.05),and the protein expressions of PI3K and p-Akt were significantly decreased(P<0.05).  Conclusion:Curcumin exerts protective effects on LPS induced inflammatory injury in H9c2 cardiac myocytes,and its mechanism may be associated with activating PI3K/Akt signaling pathway.