Abstract: Draught tube airlift bioreactors designed for plant cell suspension cultures were constructed and tested for Glycyrrhiza uralensis cell culture.The bioreactors had total volumes of 7L,9L and 25L,with working volumes of 4.5L,6Land 20L,respectively.In the condition of 8%(w/v)inoculum size and 0.2-0.25vvm aeration rate,G.uralensis cells grew well in the bioreactors,and the best result was obtained with 9Lbioreactor.The maximum cell dry weight was 16.25g/L,cell growth rate was 0.9g/L·d,echinatin content was 0.18%,Cell growth rate was equal to or even higher than in flask cultures.pHvalue and dissolved oxygen in the bioreactors were monitored using pHelectrode and oxygen electrode respectively.These results showed that the draught tube bioreactors we designed were suitable for large scale culture of G.uralensis cells.