Abstract: Objective　To explore the effect of ceftriaxone on apoptosis genes in human renal tubular epithelial cells in vitro. Methods The human renal tubular epithelial cells were cultivated in vitro and their morphology was observed under inverted microscope after stimulation with different concentrations of ceftriaxone. The expression levels of three apoptosis-related genes, p53, bcl-2 and c-Myc, were detected in human renal tubular epithelial cells stimulated with different concentrations of ceftriaxone. Results The morphology of human renal tubular epithelial cells had no obvious changes under microscope when  they were stimulated with different concentrations of ceftriaxone (0, 20, 40, and 80 mg/L). There were significant differences in expression levels of p53, bcl-2 and c-Myc genes among different concentrations of ceftriaxone (P<0.01). Compared with other three groups, in 80 mg/L group, the expression levels of p53 and c-Myc genes were significantly increased and levels of bcl-2 genes were significantly decreased (P<0.01). However, there was no difference in the expression levels of three apoptosis-related genes among 0, 20, and 40 mg/L groups (P>0.05). Conclusions High blood drug concentrations of ceftriaxone lead to increased expression of pro-apoptotic genes and decreased expression of anti-apoptotic genes, which may be one of the mechanisms causing kidney damage.