Objective:To study the effects of volatile oils extracted from Pericarpium Citri Reticulatae, Resina Liquidambaris, Myrrha and Radix Aucklandiae on the proliferation of human high metastatic ovarian cancer cell line HO-8910PM in vitro. MethodsThe HO-8910PM cells cultured in vitro were divided into the volatile oils group,positive control group,negative control group and control group,which treated with volatile oils,cyclophosphamide,DMSO and complete medium respectively. The inhibition effects of volatile oils of Pericarpium Citri Reticulatae, Resina Liquidambaris, Myrrha and Radix Aucklandiae with different concentrations and different time on HO-8910PM cells growth were evaluated by methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT) assay. The nuclei were stained by fluorescent staining Hoechst33258 and the morphological changes were observed by inverted microscope. The activity of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and Caspase-3 in cell culture medium were determined to evaluate the effects of four kinds of volatile oils on cell membrane structure and cell apoptosis.  Results:All above volatile oils exhibited inhibitive effect on the proliferation of HO-8910PM cells in a time-dose dependent manner. The obvious morphological changes of apoptosis in nuclei were observed by Hoechst33258 fluorescence staining. After the treatment with each volatile oil at experimental concentration,the activity of LDH and Caspase-3 in cell culture medium were obviously increased,the differences were statistically significant compared with the control group and positive control group of cyclophosphamide(P<0.01).  Conclusion: The volatile oils of Pericarpium Citri Reticulatae, Resina Liquidambaris, Myrrha and Radix Aucklandiae show the effects of proliferation inhibition and apoptosis promotion on HO-8910PM cells. The mechanism may be to destroy the cell membrane of tumor cells and activate Caspase-3 as the key enzyme in the pathway of apoptosis.