The antitumor and immunostimulating activities of Acanthopanax sessiliflorus fruits were investigated. Polysaccharide isolated from this plant, when administered consecutively for 9 days at 50 and 100 mg/kg i.p. in mice, caused a significant increase in the life span and a significant decrease in the tumor weight and volume in mice inoculated with Sarcoma-180 tumor cells. Polysaccharide was also demonstrated to exhibit phagocytosis-enhancing activity as measured by the carbon clearance in mice. Polysaccharide, when administered i.p. at 50 and 100 mg/kg/day for 3 consecutive days, exhibited a significant RCtr/RCc [the rate of regression coefficient of the animals teated (RCtr) to that of the control (RCc)], being 1.44 (PI = 1), 1.52 (PI = 2) which was approximately the same with that of enhancement of phagocytosis, its potency as expressed by the regression coefficient ratio of zymosan (RCtr/RCc = 1.55, PI = 2), a typical phagocytosis enhancer. Polysaccharide also caused a significant increase in the acid phosphatase activity representing lysosomal enzymes in macrophages at 1-100 ig/ml in vitro in compliance with in vivo results. These results suggest that the antitumor activity of polysaccharide might be related to the immunostimulating function.