[Objective] To explore whether adiponectin has an effect on the proliferation and hypertrophy of articular process chondro- cytes in patients with idiopathic scoliosis (IS). [Methods] Plasma adiponectin levels in IS patients and normal subjects were detected by ELISA. Primary chondrocytes of the articular process were isolated from IS patients and normal subjects, and the expressions of adiponectin and its receptor AdipoR1, chondrocyte marker Col Ⅱ and hypertrophy marker ColX were detected by western blotting. Subsequently, the chondrocytes of IS group were stimulated by different concentrations of adiponectin, and the expression of related proteins was detected. [Results] The IS group was measured significantly higher plasma adiponectin than the normal group [(19.3±11.5)μg/ml vs (9.5±8.4)μg/ml, P＜0.05], including the females [(19.3±11.5)μg/ml vs (11.9±8.8)μg/ml, P＜0.05] and the males [(9.3±4.5)μg/ml vs (3.7±3.3)μg/ml, P＜0.05]. In addition, the chondrocytes harvested from IS patients were significantly higher than those of normal control in terms of protein expression of adiponectin [(1.4±0.3) vs (1.0±0.1), P＜0.05], AdipoR1 [(1.3±0.3) vs (1.0±0.2), P＜0.05] and Col Ⅱ [(1.8±0.7) vs (1.0±0.7), P＜0.05], whereas the former had significantly lower Col X than the latter [(0.2±0.1) vs (1.0±0.8), P＜0.05]. The protein expression of Adipo Q and Adi- poR1 in chondrocytes of the IS group increased in a concentration-dependent manner after stimulation with different concentrations of adi- ponectin (P＜0.05), the protein levels of Col Ⅱ and anti-apoptotic factor Bcl2 also significantly increased (P＜0.05), while the protein levels of ColX and Bax significantly decreased (P＜0.05). [Conclusion] Increased adiponectin levels in plasma might promote the proliferation of chondrocytes and inhibit the hypertrophy process in IS patients by upregulating AdipoR1, Bcl2 and Col Ⅱ, and downregulating Bax and Col X.