Abstract: Objective To investigate the effect of the non-PLC-dependent protein kinase C (PKC) pathway of parathyroid hormone (PTH) on the apoptosis and proliferation of osteoblast MC-3T3E1 cells. Methods MC-3T3E1 cells were seeded in 96-well plates at the density of 1.5×104 cells/mL and incubated for 3 day. The cells were then exposed to 100 nmol/L of [Gly1, Arg19]hPTH(1-28), 100 nmol/L of [Gly1, Arg19]hPTH(1-34), 100 nmol/L of [Gly1, Arg19]hPTH(1-34)+1 μmol/L Go6983, 1 μmol/L Go6983, or deionized water (control) for 1, 24 or 48 h. After the treatments, cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) and Caspase-Glo® 3/7 Assay (Caspase-3) were used to examine the proliferation and apoptosis of MC3T3-E1 cells. Results CCK-8 results showed that hPTH(1-34) increased the number of MC3T3-E1 cells compared with hPTH(1-34)+Go6983 at 1 h and 24 h, but this difference was not statistically different. At 48 h, treatment with hPTH(1-34), as compared with hPTH(1-28), significantly increased the number of MC3T3-E1 cells (P<0.05), and this effect was blocked by the PKC inhibitor Go6983 (P<0.05). hPTH(1-34) did not result in significant inhibition of MC3T3-E1 cell apoptosis at 1 h and 24 h as compared with hPTH(1-34) + Go6983, but significantly inhibited the cell apoptosis as compared with hPTH(1-28) (P<0.05); this inhibitory effect was blocked by Go6983 (P<0.05). Conclusions A relatively long time (for 48 h) of exposure to PTH can inhibit apoptosis and promote the proliferation of MC3T3-E1cells through a non-PLC-dependent PKC pathway.