It is well known that excessive production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) leads to oxidative stress, loss of cell function, and ultimately apoptosis or necrosis. To search for natural antioxidants able to modulate cellular oxidative stress, we investigated the protective effect of ethanol extracts of 17 medicinal plants selected from the preliminary antioxidant screening on tert-butyl hydroperoxide (t-BuOOH)-induced oxidative stress in human keratinocytes. The result showed that extracts of the four plants, Distylium racemosum, Astilbe chinensis, Cercis chinensis and Sapium japonicum, exhibited significant cytoprotective activity (over 50% protection) against t-BuOOH-induced cellular injury.