The effects of tea polyphenols and tea pigments on cell cycle of hepatic cancer cells were studied. HepG2 cells were incubated with 50 and 100 mg/L tea polyphenols and tea pigments for 48 h respectively. Flow cytometry, Western blot and RT-PCR analysis were used. Flow cytometry analysis showed that tea polyphenols and tea pigments induced G1 arrest. Western blot analysis showed tea polyphenols and tea pigments significantly inhibited the expression of cyclin D1 protein and induced higher expression of P21WAFI/CIPI protein. The result of RT-PCR analysis demonstrated that Cdk4 was significantly inhibited by tea polyphenols and tea pigments. It is concluded that the induction of cell cycle arrest may be an important mechanism of tea on cancer prevention.