Objective To explore the influence of co-culture of dendritic cells (DCs) and cytokine induced killer cells (CIKs) on apoptosis of cervical cancer Hela cells. Methods The peripheral blood of cervical cancer patients was collected, and the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were separated, then DCs and CIKs were induced and cultured. The cell morphology was observed under microscope. Flow cytometry was used to investigate the surface markers CD8 and CD40 of the DCs, and the surface marker CD3, CD8 and CD56 of the CIKs. CCK-8 was used to detect the Hela cell survival rate after being treated with DCs-CIKs. Annexin V/PI double-staining was used to investigate the apoptosis of Hela cells after being treated with DCs-CIKs. The Bax/Bcl-2 mRNA ratio and the level of c-myc mRNA in Hela cells were detected with reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) after treatment with DCs-CIKs. Results The positive expression rates of CD8 and CD40 were 21.62% and 76.67% respectively after DCs were cultured for 7 days. The positive expression rates of CD3, CD8 and CD56 were 86.85%, 82.69% and 47.65% respectively after CIKs were cultured for 14 days. After co-cultured with DCs and CIKs, the survival rate of Hela cells decreased by 58.40% (P < 0.05), and the apoptosis rate of Hela cells increased 4.12 times.The Bax/Bcl mRNA ratio in the DCs-CIKs and Hela co-culture group was (3.49 ± 0.08) times that in the simple Hela group (P < 0.05), and the level of c-myc mRNA increased by 60.72% (P < 0.05). Conclusions The co-culture system of DCs-CIKs was successfully constructed. It was basically validated that DCs-CIKs could induce the apoptosis of Hela cells by regulating the expression of Bax/Bcl-2 and c-myc genes.