Objective: To establish a model of infecting human gingival fibroblast(HGF)cells with KSHV in vitro for further studying the mechanism of oral KS pathogenesy. Methods:The supernatants containing KSHV virion harvested from primary effusion lymphoma(PEL) cells BC-3 were used to infect HGF cells. The cytopathic effect (CPE) of HGF cells was observed post-infection and the lytic replication of KSHV in HGF cells was detected by RT-PCR and Western blot. Results:CPE appeared in post-infective HGF cells. KSHV ORF26 and ORF73 mRNA transcription was detected in HGF cells by RT-PCR at diffenrent time points. And the specific band of vIL-6 protein was detected at 12 hours post-infection by Western blot. Conclusion:KSHV could infect HGF cells and establish latent infection,providing a model in vitro for further studying the mechanism in KSHV leading to oral KS.