Objective To study the regulative effect of angelica sinensis on cellular immune function in perioperative patients with obstructive jaundice. Methods Fourteen patients with obstructive jaundice were injected with angelica before and after operation for 14 days. The activity of IL-2 and the expression of IL-2R in lymphocytes in peripheral blood were measured, respectively. Results The activity of IL-2 and the expression of IL-2R decreased significantly in patients with obstructive jaundice (P＜0.01). The activity of IL-2 and the expression of IL-2R in peripheral blood lymphocyte increased significantly before and after operations (after treatment using angelica) (P＜0.01), though there was a little decrease after operation but they were still higher than that befor using angelica.Conclusion It maybe useful to use angelica to improve the cellular immune function in patients with obstructive jaundice.