Abstract: Objective To assess the inhibitory effect of gallium nitrate, cisplatin and their combination on proliferation and apoptosis of gastric cancer(BGC823) cells. Methods The BGC823 cells were cultured and treated with gallium nitrate, cisplatin or their combination. Apoptosis and proliferation of BGC823 cells were detected by flow cytometry and MTT assay, respectively. Results MTT assay and flow cytmetry showed that gallium nitrate inhibited the proliferation of BGC823 cells in a time- and dosedependent manner. Small dose of combined gallium nitrate and cisplatin could greatly increase the inhibitory effect of cisplatin on the proliferation and apoptosis of BGC823 cells. The inhibition rate of combined gallium nitrate and cisplatin was 70.0%, 71.4% and 72.3% at 24 h, 48 h and 72 h, respectively. Conclusion The effect of gallium nitrate and cisplatin on proliferation and apoptosis of BGC823 cells is not significantly different and can thus provide a new approach to the drug treatment of gastric cancer and to the preparation of anti-tumor drugs.