OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between apoptosis and necrosis of myocardial cells in murine myocarditis. METHODS: Four week old male Balb/c mice were inoculated with Coxsackievirus B 3 (CVB 3) intraperitoneally as myocarditis models. Annexin V/PI and flow cytometry were used to detect quantitatively the myocardial cell apoptosis and necrosis. RESULTS: The percentage of myocardial cell apoptosis and necrosis in mice with viral myocarditis was much higher than that in normal controls (P<0.01). Both the percentages of apoptosis and necrosis in myocardial cells were correlated positively with the myocardial histopathological score (r= 0.70 and r= 0.93 , respectively, P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: There are cell apoptosis and necrosis simultaneously in myocardial cells of viral myocarditis. Both the myocardial cell apoptosis and necrosis are closely correlated with the severity of cardiopathological alterations.