The effect of high-dose irradiation on telomerase activity was examined in some human lymphoma (DL40, DL95, DL110) and myeloma (U266) cell lines. The survival rate was reduced in DL40, DL110 and U266 by irradiation. Irradiation, however, showed no effect on the rate of DL95. Telomerase activity was detected in non-irradiated samples of all cell lines, as measured by PCR-based telomeric repeat amplification protocol assay. The telomerase activity increased 2-6.5 fold by irradiation. Especially in DL110, the activation increased in a dose-dependent manner. In the early phase after irradiation, we observed no correlation between telomerase activity and cell viability, suggesting that telomerase-mediated chromosome healing might not be a major cause and/or not sufficiently effective to protect the cells from irradiation.