To test the protective effect of Radix Curcumae Aromaticae (RCA) on the damage of cardiac endothelial cells by xanthine oxidase (XO)/hypoxanthine (HX)-induced oxygen free radical, Neutral Red (NR), thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TSARS), and DNA synthesis assay were used in the presence of RCA extract. The results of these experiments were obtained as follows ; Cardiac endothelial cells treated with XO/HX showed the cytotoxicity such as decreases in viability and DNA synthesis, a increase in lipid peroxidation. Cardiac endothelial cells pretreated with RCA extract protected the increase of lipid peroxidation by XO/HX. Cardiac endothelial cells pretreated with RCA extract inhibited the decrease of DNA synthesis by XO/HX. These results show that XO/HX elicits toxic effects in cultured cardiac endothelial cells derived from neonatal rat, and suggest that RCA extract is very effective in the prevention of XO/HX-induced toxicity.