Neuroblastoma (NB), the most frequent solid tumor of early childhood, is diagnosed as a disseminated disease in >60% of cases, and several lines of evidence support the resistance to apoptosis as a prerequisite for NB progression, and new treatment modalities or potent drugs are further needed. Bortezomib owns a substantial cytotoxicity through regulating degradation of protein associated with cell cycle control and tumor growth. The involvement of bortezomib in neuroblastoma is largely unkown. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects and mechanisms of bortezomib on human neuroblastoma CHP126 cells. Our results indicated that bortezomib inhibits proliferation of neuroblastoma cells in a time- and dose- dependent manner, and the concentration that caused 50% inhibition of CHP126 cells growth was 11.25 nM. Furthermore, bortezomib-induced proliferation inhibition results from massive cell death characterized by apoptosis. Besides, the NFkappaB pathway was not involved in bortezomib treatment in neuroblastoma CHP126 cells, bortezomib-driven apoptotic events were associated with promoting p21 and Bax expression and down-regulating Bcl-2 expression. Ultimately, caspase-3 was activated and the cleavage of PARP was induced. Above all, our data revealed that bortezomib triggered apoptosis by enhancing the caspase 3 activation and/or modulating the Bax/Bcl-2 balance, and also provided preliminary data for further researches of bortezomib on pediatric neuroblastoma.