The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of different inducers on callus growth,related enzyme activities and ginsenoside content of American ginseng(Panax quinquefolium L.,AG).The changes of methyl jasmonate (MeJA) and salicylic acid (SA) on saponin biosynthesis in callus of AG were determined by HPLC.The results showed that MeJA inhibited the growth,but SA had little effect on the growth.Both inducers could significantly activate the activities of antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase (SOD) ,catalase (CAT) ,peroxidase (POD) and malondialdehyde (MDA) content in callus of AG.When the concentration of MeJA in the medium was 100 μmol/L,the content and yield of total saponins in callus re-ached the maximum,and the contents of ginsenosides Rg₁,Re,Rb₁ and Rc were the highest.In the SA-induced sub-experimental group,when the concentration of SA was 300 μmol/L,The content and yield of total saponins in callus of AG reached the maximum,and the content of ginsenoside Rb₁ was the highest.The results showed that adding appropriate concentrations of MeJA and SA inducers in the callus of AG could increase the content of ginsenosides,and MeJA had the best effect in inducing total ginsenosides,and also affected the growth of AG callus.The results indicated that the addition of exogenous inducers was beneficial to increase the content of saponin in callus of AG.