Although it is known that some cell types exhibit an adaptive response to low levels of cytotoxic agents, its molecular mechanism is still unclear and it has yet to be established whether this is a universal phenomenon that occurs in all cell types in response to exposure to every chemical. Hydroquinone is a synthetically produced as well as naturally occurring chemical. Human exposure to hydroquinone is predominantly through diet, cigarette smoke and occupational contact. Here, we asked whether exposure of human lung embryonic MRC-5 fibroblasts to low doses of hydroquinone leads to a cell-survival adaptive response. We further examined the possible mechanisms of an adaptive response using proteomics. We found that exposure of MRC-5 cells to low levels of hydroquinone resulted in adaptation to further exposure to lethal doses of hydroquinone at the cell-survival level, measured using the alamarBlue assay, lactate dehydrogenase leakage assay and Annexin V-FITC/PI staining. To determine the polypeptide products involved in the adaptive response, two-dimensional electrophoresis combined with mass spectrometry was performed. Twenty-three protein spots were significantly changed during the adaptive response. Among them, 21 protein spots were identified by peptide mass fingerprinting and/or peptide sequence analysis by MALDI-TOF-TOF. The identified proteins included proteins involved in energy metabolism, protein folding, redox regulation, cell structure and cell signaling. Our data suggest that the hydroquinone-induced adaptive response is a complex process involving in a modulation of diverse cellular functions, and that the redox regulation might be a common mechanism during the adaptive response.