Objective: To study the effect of CO2 pneumoperitoneum on the anti-apoptotic capability of gallbladder carcinoma cell line (GBC-SD).
 Methods: The CO2 pneumoperitoneum was established in vitro. After GBC-SD cells were exposed to CO2 pneumoperitoneum at 12 mmHg for 1, 2, 3, 4 h, the expressions of survivin mRNA was examined by RT-PCR. The untreated GBC-SD cells served as control.
 Results: Under a pressure of 12 mmHg, the expressions of survivn had an increasing tendency with the exposure time.
 Conclusions: Under certain pressure and within certain exposure time, CO2 pneumoperitoneum could improve anti-apoptotic capability of GBC-SD cells, which may be one of the mechanisms of the promoting effect of carbon dioxide pneumoperitoneum on malignant cell growth.