In our search for bioactive natural products with antitumor activity, we have valuated various extracts of Saururi Herba (Saururaceae), which has been used in traditional medici ne for edema, beriberi, jaundice, turbid urine, carbuncle and furuncle. The hexane extract of the aerial part of this plant was found to show a potent cytotoxicity against several kinds of cultured human solid tumor cell lines (AGS, A549, HCT15, SKOV3, HEP-3B) in vitro. Using cytotoxicity-guided chromatographic separation of the hexane extract, cytotoxic constituent: 10-aminomethyl-3-hydroxy-4-methoxyphenanthrene-carboxylic acid lactam, was isolated and structurally identified by physico-chemical properties and spectroscopic evidences.