Survivin plays key roles in cell proliferation and apoptosis regulation. And it was recognized as a molecular marker for tumor diagnosis and an ideal target for cancer therapy. The significant expression of survivin in activated peripheral lymphocyte was observed. To clarify the signal transduction pathway of the activation of peripheral lymphocyte and resulted in expression of survivin gene, normal human peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) was cultured with PHA and IL-2 in vitro and the expression of survivin was analyzed by RT-PCR, Western blotting and cell cycle. There were significant transcription of survivin and detectable protein of survivin in PBMC cultured with PHA and IL-2 for 36 h. The expression of survivin increased with the extension of culture time and this expression was cell cycle dependent. AG490 (JAK2 inhibitor) resulted in the cell cycle arrested and inhibited the expression of survivin markedly, and Wortmannin(PI3K inhibitor) and PD98059(MEK inhibitor) also inhibited the expression of survivin to a less extent. The results revealed that the expression of survivin correlated with the activation of peripheral lymphocyte and meant the state of cell proliferation. The JAK-STAT signal transduction pathway mediated by JAK2 was essential for the activation of peripheral lymphocyte and the expression of survivin. And the signal transduction pathway mediated by PI3K and MEK also affected this process to a certain extent.