AIM: To determine the optimal concentration for inducing the differentiation of human umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hUC-MSCs) into neuron-like cells, although it is understood that all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) regulates cell proliferation in the nervous system by modulating the balance between mitosis and apoptosis. METHODS: The abilities of ATRA to promote apoptosis as well as neural differentiation were assessed in cultured hUC-MSCs by morphological observation, MTT assay, annexin V-FITC/PI flow cytometry and immunocytochemistry. RESULTS: The data showed that low concentrations of ATRA (0.5 μmol, 0.25 μmol) had no effect on the number of cells. However, treatment with 1.0 μmol or 2.0 μmol ATRA induced a 24.16% and 52.67% reduction in cell number, respectively, compared with vehicle-treated cultures. Further, 4.0 μmol ATRA had a potent effect on cell number, with almost no adherent cells recovered after 24h. We further showed that 0.5 μmol ATRA caused these cells to express characteristic markers of neuronal progenitor cells. CONCLUSION: Taken together, we conclude that ATRA has a dose-dependent influence on the neural differentiation and apoptosis of hUC-MSCs. These findings have implications on the use of ATRA-differentiated hUC-MSCs for the study of neural degeneration diseases.