Corydalis yanhusuo, a well-known herbaceous plant, is commonly used in the treatment of inflammation, injury and pain. One natural agent isolated from Corydalis yanhusuo, 13-methyl-palmatrubine, was found to have a cytotoxic effect on cancer cells as reported in published studies. In the present study, we synthesized a potential anti-lung tumor agent, 13-methyl-palmatrubine and analyzed its activity. 13-Methyl-palmatrubine exhibited a cytotoxic effect on a panel of cancer cell lines in a time- and concentration-dependent manner. Among all the tested cancer cell lines, lung cancer A549 cells were most sensitive to 13-methyl-palmatrubine treatment. Meanwhile 13-methyl-palmatrubine showed less cytotoxicity in human normal cells. Our investigation revealed that 13-methyl‑palmatrubine induced apoptosis and cell cycle arrest in A549 cells in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, 13-methyl-palmatrubine treatment caused activation of P38 and JNK pathways and blocked the EGFR pathway. In conclusion, our findings demonstrated that 13-methyl-palmatrubine inhibited the growth of A549 cells mediated by blocking of the EGFR signaling pathway and activation of the MAPK signaling pathway and provides a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms of 13-methyl-palmatrubine.