Background: The main reason for the failure of anti-cancer chemotherapy is the build up of resistance by cancer cells to apoptosis. The activation of NF-${kappa}B$ in many cancer cell lines is reported to be underlying mechanism behind the build up of resistance of cancer cells to apoptosis. However, this relationship varied depending on the cells used in the experiments. In this study, the role of NF-${kappa}B$ activation in the TNF-$alpha$-induced apoptosis in lung cancer cell line was evaluated. Methods: NCI-H157 cells were used in all experiments. Cells were exposed to a high dose of TNF-$alpha$(20 ng/ml) for 24 or 48 hours with or without blocking NF-${kappa}B$ activation. TNF-$alpha$-induced activation of NF-${kappa}B$ was inhibited either by overexpression of $I{kappa}B{alpha}$-super repressor($I{kappa}B{alpha}$-SR) or by pre-treatment with proteasome inhibitor. Cell viability and apoptosis were evaluated with MTT assay and Western blot analysis for PARP fragment, respectively. Results: Cell viability of NCI-H157 cells was not affected by TNF-$alpha$ treatment alone; however, combined treatment with TNF-$alpha$ and cycloheximide reduced cell viability significantly, indicating that resistance to TNF-$alpha$ is mediated by the new proteins synthesized after TNF-$alpha$ stimulation. To evaluate the role of NF-${kappa}B$ in the transcription of anti-apoptotic proteins. delete NF-${kappa}B$ activation was inhibited before TNF-$alpha$ stimulation. as described above. $AD5I{kappa}B{alpha}$-SR-transduction inhibited TNF-$alpha$-induced nuclear translocation of p65. TNF-$alpha$-induced cell death and apoptosis increased after inhibition of TNF-$alpha$-induced activation of NF-${kappa}$ by methods. Conclusion: These results suggest that TNF-$alpha$-induced activation of NF-${kappa}B$ may be closely related to the acquisition of the resistance to TNF-$alpha$-induced apoptosis in lung cancer cells. Therefore. blocking of NF-${kappa}B$ pathway can be a useful therapeutic modality in the treatment of lung cancer.