Polysaccharide (PS) was fractionated from hot-water extract of Artemisia iwayomogi Kitamura stems. PS showed considerably higher hydroxyl radical scavenging activity than caffeic acid and glutathione. PS showed lower superoxide anion radical scavenging activity than hydroquinone and ascorbic acid. The scavenging activity of PS on the reactive oxygen species (ROS) induced by human neutrophils with zymosan was determined by the lucigenin-enhanced chemiluminescence assay. The scavenging effect of the PS on ROS as determined by the chemiluminescence assay was about 2-fold stronger than that of ascorbic acid at the same concentration. PS significantly decreased protein carbonyl and malonaldehyde contents in UVB irradiated skin homogenates, which was comparable to glutathione at the same concentration. This result suggested that PS derived from A. iwayomogi Kitamura stems may be a potent candidate as functional compound for the protection on UVB induced skin damage in cosmetics.