In the course of screening for naturally occurring insecticides from plants from the northwestern part of China, a petroleum ether extract of Juniperus sabina L was found to show insecticidal activity against fifth-instar larvae of Pieris rapae L. From the extract, an insecticidal compound was isolated by bioassay-guided fractionation. The compound was identified as deoxypodophyllotoxin (1) by comparison of its spectroscopic characteristics with literature data. In bioassays, 1 showed antifeedant activity against fifth-instar larvae of P rapae at 0.05-1.00 g litre(-1) and its AFC50 (concentration for 50% antifeedant activity) values at 12 and 48h were 0.170 and 0.060 g litre(-1), respectively. In that concentration range, all treated insects died within 48 h after treatment and compound 1 showed delayed insecticidal activity. At 0.015-0.100 g litre(-1), 1 showed insecticidal activity, with an LC50 of 0.020 g litre(-1). The related compound deoxypicropodophyllotoxin (2), however, showed lower antifeedant and insecticidal activities than 1 in bioassay. This indicated that the trans-lactone ring is an important moiety for enhancing activity in these compounds. Comparison of the insecticidal activities of 1 and another related compound, podophyllotoxin (3), suggested that varying the substituent at C-4 is an exciting possibility for synthesizing more potent analogues.