In this study, the protective effect of coptisine on the oxidative damage-mediated apoptosis was evaluated in cultured human HaCaT keratinocytes. The results demonstrate that preincubation of cells with coptisine prior to H 2 O 2 stimulation resulted in significant inhibition of cytotoxicity and DNA damage associated with the inhibition of reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation. Coptisine also restored H 2 O 2-induced mitochondrial dysfunction and decrease of ATP production, and prevented apoptosis by inhibiting Bax/Bcl-2 ratio, caspase-3 activity, and poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase degradation. Interestingly, the expressions of nuclear factor-erythroid-2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) and its active form, phosphorylated Nrf2, were strikingly promoted by coptisine in the presence of H 2 O 2 , which was associated with a marked increase in the expression of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1). However, coptisine-induced HO-1 expression was completely abrogated by Nrf2-specific small interfering RNA (Nrf2-siRNA), which suggests that the increased expression of HO-1 by coptisine is Nrf2-dependent. In addition, Nrf2-siRNA transfection significantly eliminated the protective effect of coptisine on H 2 O 2-induced cytotoxicity, and this effect was similar to that by zinc protoporphyrin IX (ZnPP), an HO-1 specific inhibitor. Furthermore, the protective effects of coptisine against H 2 O 2-induced cytotoxicity were abolished by ZnPP, indicating that coptisine protects keratinocytes against oxidative stress-induced injury through activation of the Nrf2/HO-1 signaling pathway.