Bee venom is used as a traditional medicine for treatment of arthritis. The anti-inflammatory activity of the n-hexane, ethyl acetate, and aqueous partitions from bee venom (Apis mellifera) was studied using cyclooxygenase (COX) activity and pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-$alpha and IL-1eta$) production, in vitro. COX-2 is involved in the production of prostaglandins that mediate pain and support the inflammatory process. The aqueous partition of bee venom showed strong dose-dependent inhibitory effects on COX-2 activity ($IC_{50} = 13.1 mu$ g/mL), but did not inhibit COX-1 activity. The aqueous partition was subfractionated into three parts by molecular weight differences, namely, B-F1 (above 20 KDa), B-F2 (between 10 KDa and 20 KDa) and BF-3 (below 10 KDa). B-F2 and B-F3 strongly inhibited COX-2 activity and COX-2 mRNA expression in a dose-dependent manner, without revealing cytotoxic effects. TNF-$alpha and IL-1eta$ are potent pro-inflammatory cytokines and are early indicators of the inflammatory process. We also investigated the effects of three subfractions on TNF-$alpha and IL-1eta$ production using ELISA method. All three subfractions, B-F1, B-F2 and B-F3, inhibited TNF-$alpha and IL-1eta$production. These results suggest the pharmacological activities of bee venom on anti-inflammatory process include the inhibition of COX-2 expression and the blocking of pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-$alpha and IL-1eta$) production.