The present study describes the preliminary evaluation of the cytotoxic activity of the extracts from Inula japonica. I. japonica was extracted with methanol, ethanol, acetone, and water, and then cytotoxic activity of these extracts were evaluated. The cytotoxic activity of each extract was assessed by the MTT-dye reduction assay. Both ethanol and acetone extracts from I. japonica showed the cytotoxic activity against the HT-29 human colon cancer cells. Furthermore, the ethanol extract was fractionated with n-hexane, diethyl ether, ethyl acetate, and water according to degree of Polarity, The diethyl ether fraction showed the highest cytotoxic activity against HT-29 cells, but the other fractions showed low cytotokic activity. In addition, diethyl ether layer also showed the cytotoxic activity against various tumor cells, such as human colon carcinoma SW620, human cervix adenocarcinoma HeLa, and human breast adenocarcinoma MCF-7 cells as well as HT-29 cells. These studies support that extracts of I. japonica may be a potential candidate as possible chemotherapeutic agent against human cancer.