Abstract: Objective To investigate the effects of the resveratrol on proliferation and gap-junctional intercellular communication (GJIC) in human liver cancer cell line HepG2. Methods MTT assay was used to observe the effects of resveratrol on HepG2 cell growth, and the distribution of cell cycles was detected with flow cytometry (FCM). The effects of resveratrol on GJIC of HepG2 cells labeled with 5’-CFDA/AM was examined with fluorescence redistribution after photobleaching (FRAP) and confocal microscope. Results The results of MTT assay indicated that the proliferation of HepG2 cells was significantly inhibited by resveratrol in a time- and dose-dependent manner. Resveratrol could arrest HepG2 cell growth in S phase, inhibit DNA synthesis and induce cell apoptosis. Furthermore, the levels of GJIC increased sharply after resveratrol treatment of the cells. Conclusion Resveratrol is capable of inhibiting HepG2 cell proliferation, causing cell growth arrest at S phase and inducing cell apoptosis. Increased GJIC level contributes to the effect of resveratrol in HepG2 cell proliferation inhibition and its cancer chemopreventive activity.