Torilin was purified from Torilis japonica (Houtt.) DC., and its effects on a rapidly activating delayed rectifier $K^+$ channel (hKv1.5), cloned from human heart and stably expressed in Ltk cells, as well as the corresponding $K^+$ current (the ultrarapid delayed rectifier, $I_{KUR}$) were assessed in human atrial myocytes. Using the whole cell configuration of the patch-clamp technique, torilin was found to inhibit the hKv1.5 current in time and voltage-dependent manners, with an $IC_50$ value of $2.51{pm}0.34;{mu}M$ at +60 mV. Torilin accelerated the inactivation kinetics of the hKv1.5 channel, and slowed the deactivation kinetics of the hKv1.5 current, resulting in a tail crossover phenomenon. Additionally, torilin inhibited the hKv1.5 current in a use dependent manner. These results strongly suggest that torilin is a type of open-channel blocker of the hKv1.5 channel.