Objective: To explore the effect of zhenwu decoction combined with neoadjuvant chemotherapy on malignant characteristics of cancer cells in ovarian cancer. Methods: A total of 80 patients with ovarian cancer who underwent surgical treatment in this hospital between March 2015 and January 2017 were divided into the control group (n=42) who received preoperative neoadjuvant chemotherapy and the zhenwu decoction group (n=38) who received preoperative zhenwu decoction combined with neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Intraoperative ovarian cancer tissue was kept to detect the expression of proliferation genes, invasion genes and autophagy genes through fluorescence quantitative PCR method. Results: Proliferation genes AKT, LSD1, SIRT1 and NOB1 mRNA expression in ovarian lesion tissue of zhenwu decoction group were lower than those of control group; invasion gene DACT1 mRNA expression was higher than that of control group whereas MTA1 and GRP78 mRNA expression were lower than those of control group; autophagy gene Beclin1 mRNA expression was higher than that of control group whereas LC3-Ⅱ and Atg5 mRNA expression were lower than those of control group. Conclusion: Preoperative zhenwu decoction combined with neoadjuvant chemotherapy can effectively inhibit the proliferation and invasion activity of tumor cells and regulate their autophagy function in patients with ovarian cancer.