Cell apoptosis is a complex and precise adjustment process, which involves numerous signal proteins. cAMP response element binding protein(CREB), a transcriptional regulation factor in eucaryotic cell, regulates the cell apoptosis through changing the intracellular signal transduction by its phosphorylation, which is a pop research in recent years. In this review, recent progress in studying the regulatory effects of transcription factor CREB on cell apoptosis is briefly summarized.