Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis(NASH) is serious metabolic disease related to fatty acid. According to "two hit theory", fatty acid-induced oxidative stress is important factor to progress nonalcoholic steatohepatitis from steatosis. In this study, we evaluated stearic acid induced oxidative stress in human hepatocarcinoma SK-Hep-1 cell. Cell viability, reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, glutathione (GSH), malondialdehyde and expression of antioxidant enzymes were determined at various time-points and concentrations of stearic acid. At 0.2 mM, non-toxic concentration, of stearic acid, production of ROS was significantly increased at 24 hours and the level of GSH was significantly decreased. Expression of superoxide dismutase-1 and 2 was slightly increased in 0.2 mM stearic acid at 24 hours. These results represent that the non-toxic concentration of stearic acid resulted in oxidative stress, suggesting that stearic acid may play a critical role in development of steatohepatitis.