The aim of the study was to investigate the efect of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) on the expression of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) in 4-(methylitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK)-mediated primary mouse peritoneal macrophagesin vitro.Methods: The activity of peritoneal macrophages treated with diferent concentrations of LPS was de-tected by MTT assay in rider to find the optimal concentration. Peritoneal macrophages were also treated with NNK (100-500μM), with or without LPS for 9 h. The expression of NF-κB was demonstrated via immunocytochemistry (ICC) and Western-blot, respectively.Results:The concentration of LPS at 25 μg/mL was found to be the optimal concentration to improve the activity of peritoneal macrophages (P < 0.01). Simultaneously, LPS (25 μg/mL) increased the expression of NF-κB in both the nucleus and cytoplasm and facilitated transfer of NF-κB to the nucleus. NNK treatment significantly inhibited the expression of NF-κB in a concentration-dependent manner, among the LPS-stimulated or unstimulated peritoneal macrophages, espe-cialy when cotreated with LPS (25 μg/mL,P < 0.01 ). Furthermore, NNK treatment (500 μM) with LPS yielded a significant decrease in NF-κB translocation to nucleus and inhibited the expression of NF-κB (P < 0.005).Conclusion: LPS enhances the suppression of NF-κB expression in NNK-mediated mouse peritoneal macrophages, which may provide a theoretical basis for the inhibition of cancer.