For the purpose of the development of skin-whitening or therapeutic agents against hyperpigmentation, aqueous extract from Nardostachys chinensis (AENC) was evaluated for melanogenesis inhibitory activity in B16F10 melanoma cell. The treatment with AENC at the 0.2, 0.5 and 1.0 mg/ml level significantly inhibits the biosynthesis of melanin compared with untreated control. The tyrosinase activity also significantly decreased in AENC-treated cells at the 0.2 and 0.5 mg/ml level and inhibitory effects were more efficient than commercial arbutin at 0.1 mg/ml. The Western analyses confirmed the significantly decreased expression of tyrosinase and tyrosinase-related protein-2 by AENC treatment. These results indicate that AENC may contribute to the inhibition of melanin biosynthesis through regulating the expression as well as activity of tyrosinase and AENC may be useful as a new candidate in the design of new skinwhitening or therapeutic agents.