Objective To investigate the potential antiproliferative and pro-apoptotic effects of flutamide on human breast cancer cell line HCC1937 in vitro and explore its possible anti-cancer mechanism. Methods Different concentration of flutamide（5，10，20μmol／L） were added to HCC1937 cells. The MTT assay was performed to reveal the inhibitory effect on cell proliferation. The cell apoptosis was determined by flow cytometry using annexin V-FITC／PI staining and the expressions of nuclear factor（NF-κB） and caspase-3 were examined by Western blotting analysis. Results Flutamide with different concentration treatment inhibited the proliferation and induced the apoptosis of human breast cancer cell line HCC1937 in a time- and dose-dependent manner. The expression of NF-κB protein decreased and caspase-3 protein increased after flutamide treatment for 24h. Conclusion Flutamide can inhibit the proliferation of human breast cancer cell HCC1937 and induce its apoptosis，with the possible mechanisms of dysregulation of NF-κB and caspase-3 expression.