The present study aimed to examine the inhibitory effects of morusin on the human lung cancer cell line A549. Various doses of morusin were applied to A549 cells and the effects were assessed by wound‑healing and MTT assays, flow cytometry analysis of apoptosis, a mitochondrial membrane potential assay and RT‑PCR. The results indicated that the concentrations of 10 and 30 µg/ml morusin significantly inhibited A549 cells and signs of apoptosis were observed. In addition, the wound‑healing assay results revealed that morusin inhibited cell migration. Flow cytometry analysis demonstrated that the rates of apoptosis were 16.46, 55.80 and 70.80% following treatment with 1, 10 and 30 µg/ml of morusin, respectively, and that the mitochondrial membrane potentials also decreased with the increase of morusin. Furthermore, morusin increased the antioxidant activities of the A549 cells. RT‑PCR analysis revealed that the expression levels of COX‑2 and VEGF were downregulated following morusin treatment. In conclusion, morusin significantly inhibited the proliferation of the lung cancer cell line A549, and may have affected the invasion and migration of the cells by downregulating the expression of tumor angiogenesis‑related genes.