Polyphenols in fruits, soybean, vegetables, herbs, roots and leaves act as bioactive components related with prevention of cancer, heart diseases and diabetes. We investigated the apoptotic effects of polyphenols from red wine on human colon cancer cells SNU-C4 using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay, 4,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) staining, terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (TdT)-mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) assay, reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) expressions of Bcl-2, Bax and Caspase-3 genes, and Caspase-3 enzyme activity. Polyphenols (100 microg/ml) increased the apoptosis of SNU-C4 cells with apparent apoptotic characteristics including morphological changes of chromatin condensation and apoptotic body formation from DAPI staining and TUNEL assay. Compared with untreated control group, polyphenols (100 microg/ml) reduced the expression of Bcl-2 whereas those of Bax and Caspase-3 were increased. The Caspase-3 activity in the polyphenols treated group was significantly increased compared to those in control group (P<0.05). These results suggest that polyphenols have a strong potential for development as an anti-colon cancer agent.