Mitochondrial homoeostasis is required for normal cell physiology, 1 abnormal mitochondrial dynamics and mitophagy participate in the regulation of pathogenesis of heart diseases. 2-5 Excessive mitochondrial fission promotes cell apoptosis; inversely, mitochondrial fusion is able to inhibit apoptosis, 1 while growing number of evidence reveals that unbalanced mitophagy also can induce cell apoptosis. 3,6,7 The membrane-associated RING-CH (MARCH) proteins belong to the RING finger protein family of E3 ubiquitin ligases. MARCH5, one of MARCH protein family, is mainly localized on the mitochondrial outer membrane. MARCH5 has been considered to play roles in immune regulation, protein quality control and membrane Abstract Abnormal mitochondrial fission and mitophagy participate in the pathogenesis of many cardiovascular diseases. Baicalein is a key active component in the roots of traditional Chinese medicinal herb Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi. It has been reported that baicalein can resist cardiotoxicity induced by several stress, but the mechanisms of baicalein operate in the protection of cardiomyocytes need to be researched further. Here we report that baicalein can promote cell survival under oxidative stress by up-regulating the expression level of MARCH5 in cardiomyocytes. Pre-treatment cells or mice with baicalein can stabilize the expression of MARCH5, which plays a crucial role in the regulation of mitochondrial network and mitophagy. Overexpressed MARCH5 is able to against H 2 O 2 and ischaemia/reperfusion (I/R) stress by suppressing mitochondrial fission and enhancing mitophagy, and then attenuate cells apoptosis. Altogether, our present study investigated that baicalein exerts a protective effect through regulating KLF4-MARCH5-Drp1 pathway, our research also provided a novel theoretical basis for the clinical application of baicalein. K E Y W O R D S apoptosis, baicalein, cardioprotection, MARCH5, mitophagy, oxidative stress