To develop effective skin whitening agents, we tested natural herbal extracts for their melanogenic inhibitory activities. Sedum samentosum was selected for its inhibitory effect on melanogenesis in B16 melanoma cells. Ethanolic extract of S. samentosum (SSE) was evaluated for antioxidative effect and tyrosinase inhibitory activity of melanogenesis. We investigated the changes in protein level and mRNA level of tyrosinase, tyrosinase related protein (TRP)-1 and TRP-2 by using western blotting and RT-PCR, respectively. SSE showed scavenging activities of free radicals and reactive oxygen species (ROS) with the $IC_{50}$ of 342.7 $mug/ml$ against 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical and 64.69 $mug/ml$ against superoxide radicals in the xanthine/xanthine oxidase system, respectively. SSE treatment suppressed the biosynthesis of melanin up to 46% and reduced tyrosinase activity up to 51% at 100 $mug/ml$ in B16 melanoma cells. The tyrosinase activity and tyrosinase expression in B16 melanoma cells were reduced in a dose-dependent manner by SSE. Also, SSE was able to significantly inhibit tyrosinase and TRP-1 expression in mRNA level. These results suggest that SSE inhibited melanin production which may be dependent on tyrosinase activity and expression in B16 melanoma cells, and an effective whitening agent for the skin.