The adjuvanticity of sodium houttuyfonate (SH) and its mechanism were studied in this research. Significant enhancement of antibody production was observed when co-injected with antigen. The levels of anti-BSA antibodies were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The possible mechanism of this phenomenon was also investigated in this research, which included the effects of SH on the phagocytosis of macrophages, the production of lysozyme, acid phosphotase and IL-1beta generated by macrophages, the proliferation of the lymphocytes in spleen and the production of IL-2 generated by lymphocytes. IL-1beta is a co-stimulator in activating Th cells, which manifests its activity together with LFA-1, ICAM-1 and ICAM-2. These observations suggested that SH could be used as a new adjuvant.