To investigate the changes and effects of HSP70/HSP90 of in nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells HNE1 after thermotherapy.HNE1 cells were incubated at 42 degrees C for 2 h. The changes of mRNA and protein level of HSP70/HSP90 were detected by real-time PCR and western-blot at different intervals. HNE1 cells were pretreated with quercetin, geldanamycin or quercetin plus geldanamycin, respectively, before heat treatment. Flow cytometry assay was applied to determine the apoptosis of HNE1 cells before thermotherapy and at 2 h, 4 h, 6 h, 8 h, 12 h and 24 h after thermotherapy.HSP70/HSP90 expression was up regulated at 2 h, reached to its peak at 4 h, descended at 8 h and returned to the normal level at 24 h after thermotherapy. The inhibition of HSP70 through quercetin induced up-regulation and delayed descent of HSP90. Combined pretreatment with quercetin and geldanamycin could significantly induce HNE1 apoptosis when compared with pretreatment with quercetin or geldanamycin alone (P<0.05).HSP70/HSP90 expression in HNE1 up regulated promptly after thermotherapy. Inhibition of expression and activity of HSP70/HSP90 before thermotherapy can increase sensitivity of the tumor cell to heat treatment.