Objective：To study the different inhibitory effects of capsule-depleted and wild type Cryptococcus neoformans （C. neoformans） on human umbilical vein endothelial cell （HUVEC）, so as to clarify the role of C. neoformans capsule. Methods： The infection process of HUVEC by C. neoformans and the cellular morphologic changes of HUVEC were observed by transmission eletron microscope （TEM）. The cell inhibition rates were detected with CCK-8 kit at different phases. Results： TEM observation revealed different degrees of cell damages after co-cultured with the above 2 strains of C. neoformans, with the loose endoplasmic reticulum, swollen mitochondria, nuclei damage, and disarranged cell structure. The result of CCK-8 showed that there was no significant difference in the inhibition rates of HUVEC between the 2 groups 30 min after co-culture （P〉0. 05）. 1 h, 2 h , 3 h, and 4 h after co-culture, the inhibition rate in capsule-depleted group was higher than that of the wild strain group（P〈0.05）, with the inhibition rate being 79% at 1 hour. Five hours after co-culture, the inhibition rates were similar in capsule-depleted group and wild strain group（P〉0.05）. Conclusion： Capsule-depleted C. neoformans causes more significant endothelial cell injury than wild strain C. neoformans does, indicating that the capsule play an important role in C. neoformans-induced damage of endothelial cells.