There is an emerging evidence that plumbagin (5-hydroxy-2-methyl-1, 4-naphthoquinone) may have potential as a chemotherapeutic agent. However, the growth inhibitory mechanisms of plumbagin have remained unexplored. The aim of the study was to determine whether plumbagin-induced cell death in human cervical cancer cell line, ME-180, exhibited biochemical characteristics of apoptosis and to check whether N-acetyl-l-cysteine (NAC), which is a free radical scavenger, can reverse the cytotoxic effects of plumbagin. It can be concluded from the results that plumbagin inhibits the growth of ME-180 cells in a concentration and time-dependent manner. The cytotoxic effect of plumbagin induced cell death is through the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and subsequent induction of apoptosis as demonstrated by the present data. Treatment of cells with plumbagin caused loss of mitochondrial membrane potential (DeltaPsi(m)), and morphological changes characteristic of apoptosis, such as the translocation of phosphatidyl serine, nuclear condensation, and DNA fragmentation. Moreover, plumbagin-induced apoptosis involved release of mitochondrial cytochrome c and apoptosis inducing factor (AIF), thus activation of caspase-dependent and -independent pathways, as shown by the plumbagin-mediated activation of caspase-3 and -9. Our results also show that pretreatment of ME-180 cells with NAC blocks plumbagin-induced loss of DeltaPsi(m) and subsequent release of cytochrome c, AIF, and caspase-9 and -3 activation, thus inhibiting the apoptotic ability of plumbagin.