OBJECTIVE: To study the gap junction and phenotype of cultured chondrocyte of rabbit, and the gap junction between the chondrocytes in the same cartilage cavities in human femoral head articular cartilage. METHODS: CFDA-AM was added into the medium of the fifth passage of chondrocyte of rabbit in the 96-well plate. The fluorescent in spherical and fibroblast-like chondrocytes was detected separately. The recurrence of the fluorescent in accordant with time in 16 minutes was recorded after blanching the fluorescent with laser. And the fluorescent after blanching of chondrocyte in the cartilage cavities in the proliferative zone of articular cartilage of adult human femoral head was recorded, too. RESULTS: The average fluorescent of the single layer of the fibroblast-like chondrocyte was 83(ranged from 1 to 274), the highest was found in the spherical shaped cell (averaged 2,057, ranged from 340 to 3,538). The recurrence of the fluorescent after the blanching appeared only in the spherical chondrocyte, the gap junctions reappeared only in the spherical chondrocytes, as well as in the cells in the cartilage cavities in the articular cartilage of the human femoral head. CONCLUSION: The appearance of the gap junction is corresponded with the spherical shape, secretion of the cartilage matrix of the chondrocyte. There are gap junctions in the cells in the same cartilage cavities in the articular cartilage of the human femoral head, while no gap junctions in the isolated chondrocytes in the cartilage.