Isodon rubescens, a Chinese herb, has been used as a folk, botanical medicine in China for inflammatory diseases and cancer treatment for many years. Recently, we isolated a new ent-kaurene diterpenoid, named Jaridonin, from Isodon rubescens. The chemical structure of Jaridonin was verified by infrared (IR), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and mass spectrum (MS) data as well as X-ray spectra. Jaridonin potently reduced viabilities of several esophageal cancer cell lines, including EC109, EC9706 and EC1. Jaridonin treatment resulted in typical apoptotic morphological characteristics, increased the number of annexin V-positive staining cells, as well as caused a G2/M arrest in cell cycle progression. Furthermore, Jaridonin resulted in a significant loss of mitochondrial membrane potential, release of cytochrome c into the cytosol, and then activation of Caspase-9 and -3, leading to activation of the mitochondria mediated apoptosis. Furthermore, these effects of Jaridonin were accompanied by marked reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and increased expression of p53, p21(waf1/Cip1) and Bax, whereas two ROS scavengers, N-acetyl-L-cysteine (LNAC) and Vitamin C, significantly attenuated the effects of Jaridonin on the mitochondrial membrane potential, DNA damage, expression of p53 and p21(waf1/Cip1) and reduction of cell viabilities. Taken together, our results suggest that a natural ent-kaurenoid diterpenoid, Jaridonin, is a novel apoptosis inducer and deserves further investigation as a new chemotherapeutic strategy for patients with esophageal cancer.