Objective To study the influence of Puerarin（Pue） on Nuclear factor-kappaB（NF-κB） of rat articular chondrocytes injuried by IL-1β. Methods The chondrocytes in vitro were got from articular cartilage of ten-day old rat. Cultured chondrocytes were randomly divided into six groups including normal group，IL-1β group，dexamethasone group，Pue 50 group，Pue 100 group，Pue 200 group. The last five groups were treated with 10μmol IL-1β（5 μg/L），IL-1β（5 μg/L） 10 μmol+Dexamethasone 10-9 mol，IL-1β （5 μg/L） 10 μmol+Pue 50 μmol/L，IL-1β （5 μg/L）10μmol+Pue 100 μmol/L，IL-1β（5 μg/L） 10 μmol+Pue 200 μmol/L. The expressions of NF-κBp65 were assessed by Real-time quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction. Results The expressions of NF-κBp65 were increasd obviously in damaged chondrocytes nucleus. The last four groups were superior to the group of IL-1β（P<0. 05）severally. And with the dose increased（50 μmol/L，100 μmol/L，200 μmol/L） the expressions of NF-κBp65 were rising gradually. Conclusion Pue can markedly inhibit the activities of NF-κBp65，and it maybe one of the new method of prevention and treatment of osteoarthritis.