Objective The pharmacological effect of propolis in immune system has been well verified.But there were only few of researches on the neuropharmacological effect of propolis, especially on the cognitive function.The existed evidence indicated that the propolis from North China (Shandong and Gansu) could improve the memory performance of mice in Morris water maze task or in Y-maze task.We want to know whether the Yunnan propolis (Southwest China) play a similar role in learning and memory.Methods Sixty young male KM mice (4 week age, in six groups) were used in present study.These mice were treated with pure water, placebo, 5 mg/kg, 15 mg/kg and 45 mg/kg of propolis for a week in groups.Then the emotional memory and spatial memory of the animals were tested in a step-through passive avoidance task and a standard Morris water maze task.Results Yunnan propolis could influence the performance of the animals in an "invert U" shape dosage-effect curve.Compared with the pure water treatment, placebo treatment impaired the learning ability in both of the tasks, but 5 mg/kg or 45 mg/kg of propolis returned the performance into the normal level, and 15 mg/kg of propolis improved the performance of mice.Conclusion Yunnan proplis could improve the ability of learning and memory.