Abstract: The pharmacological studies were made on the gallic acid isolated from a herb Ampelopsis brevipedunculata. It was found that gallic acid had an antiinflamma- tory effect. Gallic acid(800mg/kg ip)is as effective as salicylic acid(400mg/kg ip) in reducing paw edema of rats induced by egg white, 5-HT, dextran and formaldehyde. It should be pointed out that the toxicity of gallic acid was much lower than that of salicylic acid, i.e.LD50 for the former being 4g/kg and for the latter 650mg/kg. Therefore, the therapeutic index of gallic acid was greater. In addition, gallic acid possesses antibacterial activity, for inhibiting the growth of staphylococcus aureus at the concentration of 1:10,000.