Objective Sorafenib is a first-line only drug approved for the treatment of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Resistance to sorafenib means that treatment outcomes are often unsatisfactory. Although the mechanism underlying sorafenib resistance remains unclear, resistance may occur through Akt signaling pathway activation in HCC. Dihydrotanshinone (DHT), a lipophilic component of traditional Chinese medicine Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge, has multiple anti-tumor activities and inhibits Akt activation. The effect and mechanism of DHT combined with sorafenib on HCC have not been investigated. In this study, we investigate whether DHT potentiates the anti-cancer activities of sorafenib against HCC.Methods In this study, the effects of sorafenib and DHT on the viability, apoptosis and drug sensitivity of Huh7 and HepG2 cells were verified by Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) and flow cytometry. Akt, P-Akt, Caspase3, GSK-3β, P-GSK-3β, ribosomal protein S6 kinase (S6K), P-S6K, Cyclin D1, Bcl-xl, Bcl-2, and Bax expression levels were analyzed via Western blot. All data were statistically compared using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Dunnett test. Statistical analysis using SPSS 20.0 statistical software.Results DHT inhibit proliferation and promote apoptosis in HCC cells by reducing Akt activation. DHT inhibits the expression and activation of Akt downstream factors, including GSK-3β and S6K, which regulate the apoptotic response and are activated and upregulated by sorafenib treatment. Both sorafenib and DHT downregulate cyclin D1 expression and DHT upregulates Bax expression and downregulates Bcl-2 and Bcl-xl expression. However, sorafenib had little influence on Bcl-2 family protein expression.Conclusion DHT may enhance the proliferation inhibition and apoptosis induction of sorafenib in HCC cells by inhibiting the activation of Akt signaling pathway, thus enhancing the anticancer effect of sorafenib.