Abstract: Taking Schefflera arboricola Hayata as the test material, extraction of polyphenols from Schefflera arboricola Hayata by cellulase combined with ultrasound was studied, the extraction conditions were optimized by univariate and response tests and the scavenging capacity of polyphenols from Schefflera arboricola Hayata on hydroxyl radicals（·OH）,DPPH radicals（DPPH·） and nitrite（NO^-₂） was also studied, in order to provide reference for the comprehensive development and utilization of Schefflera arboricola Hayata polyphenols.The results showed that the optimum extraction conditions of polyphenols from Schefflera arboricola Hayata were ethanol volume fraction 40%,solid-liquid ratio 1:35 g·mL^-1,enzymolysis hydrolysis time 35 minutes, ultrasonic power 350 W,enzymolysis temperature 50 ℃,cellulase dosage 3.0%（with the quality of Schefflera arboricola Hayata, the same below）.Under these conditions, the extraction amount of polyphenols from Schefflera arboricola Hayata was（15.52±0.824） mg·g^-1,which was close to the predicted value(15.61 mg·g^-1).Schefflera arboricola Hayata polyphenols showed strong scavenging effects on hydroxyl radicals, DPPH radicals and nitrite, and increased with the increase of polyphenols concentration.When the concentration of Schefflera arboricola Hayata polyphenols was 0.137 mg·mL^-1,the clearance rates of ·OH,DPPH· and NO^-₂ were 54.33%,91.14% and 61.42% respectively.The extraction process parameters optimized by response method were accurate and reliable, and could be used for the extraction of polyphenols from Schefflera arboricola Hayata.Schefflera arboricola Hayata polyphenols had strong antioxidant capacity in vitro and could be used as natural antioxidant resources in food and medicine.