Abstract: The purpose of this experiment was to determine the relationship between embryonic development and apoptosis in porcine nuclear transfer (SCNT) embryos during development in vitro. The apoptotic incidence was evaluated via Comet assay, and the mRNA expression of gene implicated in antiapoptosis (Bcl-2) was also examined using Real-time RT-PCR. The results showed that the SCNT embryos had a similar cleavage rate (77.6% vs 80.3%, P>0.05) but a lower developmental rate of blastocysts (18.9% vs 24.5%，P>0.05) compared to in vitro fertilization (IVF) embryos. The results of Comet assay demonstrated that the apoptotic rate both of the two types of embryos maintained increased tends along embryonic developmental stages, but the SCNT embryos exhibited higher apoptotic rate from 16-cell to morula stage compared to IVF embryos. In the whole developmental process, the relative abundance of Bcl-2 mRNA was gradually reduced both in SCNT and IVF embryos, and the expression of Bcl-2 mRNA in SCNT embryos was significantly lower than that of IVF embryos at 16-cell and 32-cell stages. It was concluded that the higher degree of apoptotic incidence may be associated with the low efficiency of porcine SCNT in vitro production.