Objective To determine the effect of curcumin (Cur) on the process of visfatin-induced injury in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs), and investigate the underlying mechanism of signal pathway induced by Cur treatment in the improvement of endothelial functions. Methods After the HUVECs were induced by 1×10-5mol/L visfatin, the cells were treated by Cur. Then cell viability was determined by MTT assay, the expression levels of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) and E-selectin were detected by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and the levels of intercellular cell adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), inositol-requiring transmembrane kinase/endonuclease 1 (IRE1), glucose-regulated protein 78 (GRP78) were measured by Western blotting. Results MTT assay showed that Cur treatment had no effect on cell viability. Compared with the normal control group, 1×10-5mol/L visfatin significantly increased the protein expression levels of MCP-1 and E-selectin (P＜0.05), and obviously enhanced the protein expression of ICAM-1, IRE1 and GRP78 (P＜0.05). However, different doses of Cur treatment exerted inhibitory effects on the above phenomena induced by visfatin (P＜0.05). Conclusion Cur may mitigate visfatin-induced injury in HUVECs via the inhibition of endoplasmic reticulum stress.