〔Abstract〕 Objective To explore the effects and possible mechanism of 2-hydroxy-3-methylanthraquinone(HMA) on the growth inhibition of colon cancer cells(HCT116, HT-29). Methods The target of HMA was searched and analyzed by TCMSP database. The colon cancer HCT116 and HT-29 cells were culturedin vitro, and then they were intervened with different concentrations of HMA. The effects of HMA on the viability, growth, survival ability and apoptosis of colon cancer cells were detected by CCK-8, trypan blue count, colony formation and Annexin V/PI double staining respectively. The effects of HMA on potential targets and apoptosis-regulating proteins were detected by Western blot. Results TCMSP search analysis showed that there was HMA in Hedyotis diffusa, Scutellaria barbata and Morinda officinalis, which contained 32 potential targets, including apoptosis-related gene Caspase-3. Different concentrations of HMA could inhibit cells viability, growth and number of formed colonies, and induce apoptosis. The results of Western blot showed that HMA could down-regulate anti-apoptosis gene Bcl-2, up-regulate pro-apoptosis gene Bax, and promote the activation and cleavage of apoptosis-related proteins(cleaved Caspase-9, cleaved Caspase-3), thus promoting apoptosis. Conclusion HMA can inhibit growth and induce apoptosis of colon cancer cells, which may be related to regulating expressions of Bcl-2, Bax, cleaved Caspase-9, cleaved Caspase-3 and other apoptosis proteins.