Abstract: Objective To investigate the effects of genistein on osteoblastic proliferation and differentiation.Methods Primary osteoblastic cells from human cancellous bone were cultured.Osteoblastic cells were obtained by trypsin-collagenase digestion.Cells were treated with vehicle(DMSO),geniste in(1×10^-9 mol/L,1×10^-8 mol/L,1×10^-7 mol/L,1×10^-6 mol/L)and estradiol(1×10^-8 mol/L)for 24h,48h,72h,respectively.The cell proliferation and differentiation were investigated with MTT test and the measurement of ALP activity.Results At different time and concentration,genistein had different effects on osteoblastic cell proliferation.Geniste in at 10^-9 mol/L was noeffect,but higher concentrations of genistein(10^-7 mol/L)stimulated osteoblast proliferation.Spearman correlation analysis showed that the effects of genistein on osteoblastic cell proliferation were time and dosedependent.Geniste in coulds timulate human osteoblastic cell differentiation in a dose dependent manner.Genistein at 10^-7 mol/L and 10^-6 mol/L increased the ALP activity in a time dependent manner.Conclusion Genistein can stimulate human osteoblastic cell proliferation and differentiation in a dose-and time-dependentmanner.