In a previous paper,Kao and collaborators have reported the synthesis and the antitumour activity of several analogues of chloramphenicol(Ⅰ),among which 2-[p-bis(2-chloroethyl) aminobenzylidene-imino]-1-p-nitrophenyl-l,3-propanediol(Ⅱ,designated as AT-16) exhibited a pronounced inhibitory action against a variety of animalhad been and had been subjected to clinical trials.Since it has been established that the aminopropanediol moiety of chloramphenicol is necessary to the exhibition of the antibiotic action,whereas the nitro group on the phenyl ring can be changed to some other radicals without affecting the biological activity,it seems reasonable to assume that replacement of the nitro group on the ring by other groupings with potential antitumour action would be more favourable for enhancing the effectiveness in inhibiting the growth of tumours.