Objective: The aim of this study was to research the effect of grape seed procyanidin extract (GSPE) on cell apop- tosis in human bladder cancer BIU87 cells and investigate its molecular mechanism. Methods: BIU87 cells were treated with different concentrations of GSPE and cultured for 24 h in vitro while untreated group as control, MTT[3- (4,5-dimethylthiazole- 2-yl) -2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide] assay, Hoechst 33258 stainning, flow cytometry, RT-PCR and Weste blot were used to detect the apoptotic induction effect of GSPE on 81U87 cells. Results: We found that GSPE induced cell apoptosis in BIU87 cells by a dose-dependent manner. Semiquantitated RT-PCR and Weste blot analyses indicated that GSPE increased the expression of caspase-3 and decreased the expression of survivin (P < 0.01). Conclusion: GSPE induces apoptosis in BIU87 cells in vitro, and the effect maybe related with its down-regulation of survivin.