Abstract: Objective To study the effect of anti-EGFR mAbs, nimotuzumab (h-R3) and cetuximab (C225), in combination with X-ray irradiation on human nasopharyngeal carcinoma cell line CNE-2. Methods Expression of surface EGFR in CNE-2 cells was detected by flow cytometry (FCM). Wild K-ras CNE-2 cells were detected by PCR-DNA sequencing. Proliferation of CNE-2 cells was assayed by MTS. Cell survival curves were plotted by clone formation experiment. Cell-cycle distribution and apoptosis were analyzed by FCM. Results The effect of combined C225 and X-ray irradiation was better than that of combined h-R3 and X-ray irradiation on the survival and apoptosis of CNE-2 cells (P< 0.05). However, no significant difference was observed in their effect on cell cycle distribution and proliferation (P> 0.05). Conclusion Both h-R3 and C225 can enhance the anti-tumor effect of X-ray irradiation on CNE-2 cells. The effect of C225 is better than that of h-R3 on CNE-2 cells.