Abstract: OBJECTIVE: To observe proliferative and morphological changes in human esophageal cancer cell differentiation induced by Hexamethylene Bisacetamide (HBMA). METHODS：EC9706 cells were treated by different concentration of HMBA(0，3，5，8，10 mmol/L) and the changes in proliferation and morphology before and after treatment were examined under light microscope ，while the effects were detected by growth curve，division index and HE staining. RESULTS：After treatment with HMBA the proliferation and growth of EC9706 cells were inhibited.，and the inhibitory rate rose with the increase of HBMA concentration. EC9706 cells tended to spread out flat，cell size was more consistent and regular under light microscope. CONCLUSION：Human esophageal cancer cells treated with HMBA appeared similar to normal epithelial cell morphology and structural features，displaying malignant phenotype reversal of tumor cells.

Key words: cell proliferation, cell morphological and structure, hexamethylene bisacetamide, esophageal cancer EC9706