The effect of light culture technology on the explants growth of Taxus cuspidate was studied. The young stems of Taxus cuspidate were used as the explants. The optimal dosage of sucrose in the culture medium were researched. The orthogonal test was applied to study the optimal light culture conditions (CO2 concentration, light intensity, light cycle) for explants of Taxus cuspidate. The results show that the optimal concentration of sucrose was 10 g/L, under the 3∶1 of red to blue light ratio, 1500 mg/L of CO2 concentration, 12.5 mol·m-2·s-1 of light intensity, and 10 h/d of photoperiod. Under this condition, the explants have the highest bud germination rate and healing rate, short bud germination time and initial healing time, and the lowest browning rate. The optimal combination of factors in the light culture on explants of Taxus cuspidate was as follows: CO2 concentration was 3000 mg/L, the light intensity was 37.5 μmol·m-2·s-1, and the photoperiod was 14 h/d. The verification test showed that compared with the control group (without light), the bacteria rate, bud germination time and initial healing time of explants under light culture are reduced by 4.33%, 2.33 d, and 3.75 d, respectively. Bud germination rate, healing rate, fresh weight growth rate of callus and paclitaxel content are increased by 16%, 6.33%, 0.35 times, 0.09 mg/L, respectively, which meant that the optimization is obvious. This study suggests that the light culture provides theoretical basis and technical support for tissue culture of Taxus cuspidate under light environment.