Introduction:The present study is aimed at evaluating the anti-proliferative and apoptotic potential of Costus pictus D. Don on fi brosarcoma HT-1080 cell line, and also evaluating its safety to normal human lymphocytes. Materials and Methods: Dried leaves of C. pictus plant were used for aqueous and alcohol extraction. Different concentrations of these were evaluated for their cytotoxicity by trypan blue dye exclusion method and 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay on the cancer cell line (fi brosarcoma HT-1080) and a normal cell line (human peripheral lymphocytes). The apoptotic potential was analyzed by DNA fragmentation analysis of the treated cells. Results: The ethanol extract of C. pictus was found to be anti-proliferative and cytotoxic at lower concentrations and induced cell death in HT-1080 fi brosarcoma cells. The ethanol extract at the same concentrations had no cytotoxicity on normal lymphocytes. Compared to ethanol extracts, aqueous and methanol extracts were less effective. Conclusion: The present investigation, for the fi rst time, reveals the anticancer potential of ethanol extract of C. pictus on HT-1080 cells. It is very likely that the result can be extrapolated to animal or human system. The extract can be used for further purifi cation of the active component for future applications.