Previous results demonstrated that the methanolic extract of adlay seed exerted an antiproliferative effect on human lung cancer cells in vitro and in vivo and might prevent tobacco carcinogen-induced lung tumorigenesis. In this study, the methanolic extract of adlay seed was tested for its regulation of COX-2 expression of human lung cancer cells. Western blot analysis showed that the methanolic extract of adlay seed inhibited basal and TPA-induced COX-2 expression in a dose-dependent fashion, whereas COX-1 expression was not affected. By using a promoter activity assay, it was found that the methanolic extract inhibited basal and TPA-stimulated COX-2 expression at the transcription level. The effect of the methanolic extract on COX-2 expression in vivo was then investigated. The data demonstrated that treatment of the methanolic extract reduced the PGE(2) level in serum and inhibited COX-2 expression of tumor tissues in nude mice. Taken together, these results suggest that inhibition of COX-2 is one of the mechanisms by which the methanolic extract of adlay seed inhibits cancer growth and prevents lung tumorigenesis.