Abstract: 120 day-old geese were divided into four groups at random. The first group were fed with Zn-unsupplemented corn-soybean meal basal diet (group A) and the other three groups were fed with the basal diets supplemented with 40 mg/kg(group B)，110 mg/kg(group C) and 2000 mg/kg(group D) Zn as reagent grade ZnSO₄·H₂O，respectively. FACS was used to investigate the effect of zinc on the cell cycle and apoptosis. It was the first time to reveal that the proliferative index and the content of DNA of blood，thymus，spleen with 110 mg/kg zinc were the highest in the four group. The apoptosis of the blood lymphocytes could be induced obviously by low and high doses of zinc preparation. 

Key words: zinc; geese; apoptosis; cell cycle