OBJECTIVE: The production of dendritic cells depends on the different culture conditions. It is necessary to establish a high effective dendritic cells culture system for high production. This study aims to explore the feasibility of programmable expansion of dendritic cells from cord blood mononuclear cytes by the induction of combination of granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), IL-4 and TNF-α. METHODS: Cord blood mononuclear cytes were separated by density centrifugation on Ficoll-Hypaque grad. Dendritic cells generated from cord blood mononuclear cytes were produced by the induction of a combination of GM-CSF, IL-4 and TNF-α. After 12 days of induction, the morphology of the harvested cells was observed under the light and electron microscopes, and the surface expression was examined using a flow cytometer. RESULTS: On the 12th day of induction, ( 0.46± 0.13)×10 6 dendritic cells were harvested from 2×10 6 cord blood mononuclear cytes. The proportion of CD80 +, CD86 + and CD1a + positive cells were 89.98%± 4.32%, 86.86%± 7.17% and 43.16%± 5.80% respectively. The expanded cells presented a typical dendritic cell morphology. CONCLUSIONS: The programmable culture system with combination of GM-CSF, IL-4 and TNF-α can effectively induce and expand cord blood dendritic cells.