Objective: To study the effect of artesunate and cisplatin on the proliferation and apoptosis of HeLa cells in cervical cancer and its mechanism. Methods: Human cervical cancer HeLa cells were cultured in vitro and treated with artesunate (ART), cisplatin (CDDP) and two drugs for 24 and 48 h, respectively. Cell Counting Kit (CCK-8) and flow cytometry were used to determine the growth, proliferation and inhibition of artesunate and cisplatin and their combined application on HeLa cells. Western blot was used to detect the expression level of Rad51 protein (recombination protein A) in each group. RT-PCR was used to detect Rad51 mRNA expression. Results: CCK-8 and flow cytometry showed that compared with the control group, the proliferation of HeLa was significantly inhibited in all groups, and its pro-apoptosis effect was statistically significant in each group (P<0.01), and the inhibiting effect was more significant in the combined group (P<0.001), which was also time-concentration dependent. RT-PCR and Western blot results showed that compared with the control group, Rad51 gene was down-regulated, and the corresponding changes were more significant in the combined administration group, but there was no significant difference between the two individual dosing groups (P>0.05). Conclusion: ART may increase the sensitivity of HeLa cells to CDDP by down-regulating Rad51.