Abstract: Objective To study the apoptosis activity of the basal cells during the growth and development of rats, and iNOS, Fas expression and the regularities of distribution in this process. Methods SPF grade SD male rats were divided into seven groups (4, 8, 16, 32, 48, 64,128d). TUNEL method and immunohistochemical S-ABC method were used to detect temporal and spatial characteristics of the apoptotic pathways and correlation between each way. Results Yellow fluorescent TUNEL cartilage cell apoptosis can be seen in each group. 4d,8d,16d after birth, a small amount of cell apoptosis appeared in the hypertrophic zone and the junctional zone of the synchondrosis and the number of cells increased with the time went by. iNOS mainly expressed in the quiescent zone and the proliferative zone. Fas existed in almost every period of each layer of cartilage joint and expressed more in the hypertrophic zone and the junctional zone. Conclusion The growth and development of synchondrosis is closely linked with chondrocyte apoptosis. There were two pathways in the synchondrosis. Fas pathway plays a leading role while mitochondrion pathway is more significant to the growth in quiescent zone and proliferative zone.