Nuclear factor NF-κB is believed to play an important role in regulating the production of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), which induce atherosclerosis, restenosis and plaque rupture. We incubated rabbit vascular smooth muscle cells(RVSMCs)with 5 μmol/L lovastatin in the presence of IL-1-α and PDGF_BB (20 μg/L, respectively) to study whether lovastatin inhibited NF-κB binding activity induced by IL-1 and PDGF. The NF-κB activity was detected by electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA); MMP-1 and MMP-3 were measured by western blotting; and MMP-9 was detected by zymography. The result showed that lovastatin strongly reduced NF-κB activity upregulated by IL-1 combined with PDGF, and lovastatin also dose-dependently inhibited the expression of MMP-1, -3 and -9 induced by IL-1 and PDGF. It suggested that the beneficial effects of statins may extend to mechanisms beyond cholesterol reduction.