Resveratrol is a natural polyphenolic compound that prevents inflammation in chondrocytes and animal models of osteoarthritis (OA) via yet to be defined mechanisms. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the protective effect of resveratrol on IL-1 beta-induced human articular chondrocytes was associated with the TLR4/MyD88/NF-kappa B signaling pathway by incubating human articular chondrocytes (harvested from osteoarthritis patients) with IL-1 beta before treatment with resveratrol. Cell viability was evaluated using the MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) assay and TNF alpha levels in culture supernatants were measured by ELISA(Enzymelinked immunosorbent assay). The levels of TLR4 and its downstream signaling targets (MyD88 and TRAF6) and IL-1 beta were assessed by measuring the levels of mRNA and protein expression by real-time RT-PCR and western blot analysis, respectively, in addition to assessing NF-kappa B activation. In addition, TLR4 siRNA was used to block TLR4 expression in chondrocytes further demonstrating that resveratrol prevented IL-1 beta-mediated inflammation by TLR4 inhibition. We found that resveratrol prevented IL-1 beta-induced reduction in cell viability. Stimulation of chondrocytes with IL-1 beta caused a significant up-regulation of TLR4 and its downstream targets MyD88 and TRAF6 resulting in NF-kappa B activation associated with the synthesis of IL-1 beta and TNF alpha. These IL-1 beta-induced inflammatory responses were all effectively reversed by resveratrol. Furthermore, activation of NF-kappa B in chondrocytes treated with TLR4 siRNA was significantly attenuated, but not abolished, and exposure to resveratrol further reduced NF-kappa B translocation. These data suggested that resveratrol prevented IL-1 beta-induced inflammation in human articular chondrocytes at least in part by inhibiting the TLR4/MyD88/NF-kappa B signaling pathway suggesting that resveratrol has the potential to be used as a nutritional supplement to counteract OA symptoms.