The purpose of this study was to examine the potential of turmeric (Curcuma longa L.) to inhibit 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA)-induced mammary carcinogenesis in rats. Female Sprague Dawley rats were fed a control diet (NC and DC) or an ethanol extract of turmeric (DT) diet until the end of the experiment. The rats in the DC and DT groups were administered a single dose of DMBA (50 mg/Kg) by oral gavages at 50 days of age. The turmeric ethanol extracts decreased the incidence and multiplicity of DMBA-induced mammary tumor. The turmeric ethanol extract significantly decreased the tumor cell proliferation. The turmeric also significantly decreased the tumor grade based on the degree of the tubule formation. The results suggest that the ethanol extract of turmeric has an inhibitory effect against mammary carcinogenesis, and that such chemopreventive effect may be related to the inhibition of the initiation and the proliferation of tumor cells.