Abstract: Objective To detect hormesis effects of lead acetate on Z310 cells.Methods Z310 cells were treated with lead acetate at concentrations of 0,0.000 2,0.002,0.02,0.2,2,20,200 and 500 μmol/L for 12 hours and 24 hours.The proliferation viability of Z310 cells was measured by 3-(4,5-dimethythiazol-2-yl) -2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide(MTT) and 2-(2-methoxy-4-nitrophenyl) -3-(4-nitrophenyl) -5 (2,4-disulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium,monosodium salt (WST-8) assay.And morphological changes in Z310 cells were observed under optical microscope.Results Lead acetate stimulated cell survival rate (107.06%) at lower concentration(0.02 μmol/L) for 24 hours.Compared with the control,a significant survival rate increase(110.91%,P< 0.05) was observed following exposure to 0.2 μmol/L lead acetate for 24 hours,but at higher concentrations(over 2 μmol/L),the survival of the cells was inhibited.The survival rates significantly decreased(79.37% and 76.81%) only at 200 and 500 μmol/L lead acetate for 24 hours tested by MTT(P< 0.01).The same effects were observed by WST-8 at the same concentration,with the survival rates of 81.67% and 72.36% for 12 hours(P< 0.01) and 56.89% and 44.05% for 24 hours(P< 0.01).Conclusion Lead acetate can induce the hormesis of Z310 cell proliferation.There is a higher sensitivity in cell survival rate test with WST-8 than MTT.