Objective To study biological effect of transforming growth factor β(TGF-β) and recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein 2 (rhBMP-2) on theSchwann cell(SC) in vitro. Methods Cultured SC from newbornSDrats were implanted at 5×103/well in 96-well-plate (36 wells in each group, altogether 3 groups):TGF-β group (group A) treated with 50 ng/ml TGF-β; rhBMP-2 group (group B) treated with 50 ng/ml rhBMP-2 and control group (group C). SC proliferation activity was assessed by MTT and flow cytometry (FCM) methods, and nerve growth factor (NGF) synthesis in SC culture media was detected by ELISA method. Results MTT observation indicated that there was significant difference in the growth curve among 3 groups until the 8th and 9th day. Group A had more obvious rising tendency than group B and group C. FCM observation indicated that the proliferation index of group A and group B was higher than that of group C（Plt;0.05）. ELISA observation indicated that there was significant difference in the NGF concentration of the culture medium among the 3 groups(P＜0.05). Group A had the highest NGF concentration. Conclusion Exogenous TGF-β and rhBMP-2 can promote SC’s ability to proliferate NGF, but TGF-β is more effective than rhBMP-2.