Objective To determine the effect of bisdemethoxycurcumin (BDMC) on the apoptosis of primary cardiomyocytes induced by staurosporine (STS). Methods Myocardial cells were isolated from neonatal C57BL/6J mice and then primarily cultured. Then the obtained cells were divided into control group, STS treatment group, BDMC pretreatment+STS treatment group and BDMC pretreatment group. Cell viability, cell apoptosis, caspase-3 activity, and intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) level were measured by CCK-8 assay, TUNEL assay kit, caspase-3 activity assay kit and ROS assay kit, respectively. Results Pretreatment of 100 μmol/L BDMC resulted in significantly increased cell viability, obviously decreased caspase-3 activity, remarkably lowered apoptosis rate and notably reduced ROS level (P<0.05) in the cardiomyocytes. Conclusion BDMC can inhibit cell apoptosis through decreasing the intracellular ROS level in the cardiomyocytes, so as to protect the cells against STS-induced injury.