We previously reported the anti-proliferative effect of Chungjogupae-tang (CJGPT) in human lung carcinoma A549 cells, which was associated with the induction of cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p21 in a tumor suppressor p53-independent manner. CJGPT treatment also resulted in the inhibition of prostaglandin E2 release A549 cells by the down-regulation of cyclooxygenase-2. In the present study, we investigated the pathway of the induction of apoptotic cell death by CJGPT in A549 cells. It was found that CJGPT could inhibit the cell viability and induce the apoptotic cell death of A549 cells in a dose-dependent manner as measured by hemocytometer counts, flow cytometry analysis and agarose gel electrophoresis. Apoptosis of A549 cells by CJGPT was associated with a down-regulation of anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 and inhibitor of apoptosis proteins (IAPs) expression. Additionally, DNA fragmentation by CJGPT was connected with the activation of inhibitor of caspase-activated DNase/DNA fragmentation factor 45 (ICAD/DFF45) protein expression.