As a neurotropic substance, ethanol can damage nerve cells through an increase in the production of free radicals, interference of neurotrophic factor signaling pathways, activation of endogenous apoptotic signals and other molecular mechanisms. Previous studies have revealed that a number of natural drugs extracted from plants offer protection of nerve cells from damage. Among these, arctigenin (ATG) is a lignine extracted from Arctium lappa (L.), which has been found to exert a neuroprotective effect on scopolamine-induced memory deficits in mice with Alzheimer's disease and glutamate-induced neurotoxicity in primary neurons. As a result, it may offer beneficial effects on ethanol-induced neurotoxicity. However, the effects of ATG on ethanol-induced nerve damage remain to be elucidated. To address this issue, the present study used rat pheochromocytoma PC12 cells to investigate the neuroprotective effects of ATG on ethanol-induced cell damage by performing an MTT reduction assay, cell cycle analysis, Hoechst33342/propidium iodide fluorescence staining and flow cytometry to examine apoptosis. The results showed that 10 mu M ATG effectively promoted the proliferation of damaged cells, and increased the distribution ratio of the cells at the G2/M and S phases (P<0.05). In addition, the apoptosis and necrosis of the PC12 cells were significantly decreased following treatment with ATG. Therefore, it was concluded that 10 mu M ATG had a protective effect on ethanol-induced injury in PC12 cells.