Aim: To investigate the growth inhibition effect of the combination of bcr/abl phosphorothioate antisense oligonucleotides (PS-ASODN) and curcumin (cur), and the possible mechanisms of cur on the chronic myelogenous leukemia cell line K562. Methods: The K562 cell line was used as a P210bcr/abl-positive cell model in vitro and was exposed to different concentrations of PS-ASODN (0-20 μmol/L), cur (0-20 μmol/L), or a combination of both. Growth inhibition and apoptosis of K562 cells were assessed by MTT assay and AO/EB fluorescent staining, respec-tively. The expression levels of P210bct/abl, NF-κB and heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) were assessed by Weste blot. Results: Exposure to cur (5-20 μmol/L) and PS-ASODN (5-20 μmol/L) resulted in a synergistic inhibitory effect on cell growth.Growth inhibition was associated with the inhibition of the proliferation and in-duction of apoptosis. Weste blot analysis showed that the drugs synergisti-cally downregulated the level of P210bcr/abl and NF-κB. Cur downregulated Hsp90,whereas no synergism was observed when cur was combined with PS-ASODN.Conclusion: PS-ASODN and cur exhibited a synergistic inhibitory effect on the cell growth of K562. The synergistic growth inhibition was mediated through different mechanisms that involved the inhibition of P210bcr/abl.