Abstract: The technology for extraction of polysaccharides from the wick of Helianthus annuus L., was studied to find the optimum conditions. The water extraction and alcohol precipitation method was used to extract the wick of H.annuus L. with the polysaccharide yield as index. The optimum conditions were obtained through single factor test with 5 factors including extraction time, mesh number, solid-liquid ratio, extract time and extract temperature. The content of polysaccharides was determined by phenol sulfuric acid method. In this study, the optimal conditions were obtained. These data were as follows:extraction time was twice, mesh number was 60-80, solid-liquid ratio(g·mL^-1) was 1:50, extract time was 3.0 h, and extract temperature was 90℃. The maximum extraction rate(6.56%) was achieved under the optimal extraction conditions. The maximum extraction yields of polysaccharides were up to 266.03 mg·g^-1 under the optimal extraction conditions. Polysaccharides exerted proliferation inhibitory activity to three tumor cell lines in a concentration dependent manner. All of these conditions set the foundation for large-sale development and application of the wick of H.annuus L..