Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder that is characterized by degeneration and loss of dopaminergic neurons of the substantia nigra. Increasing evidence has indicated that oxidative stress plays a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease (PD). Therapeutic options that target the antioxidant machinery may have potential in the treatment of PD. Cordycepin, a nucleoside isolated from Cordyceps species displayed potent antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anticancer properties. However, its neuroprotective effect against 6-OHDA neurotoxicity as well as underlying mechanisms is still unclear. In this present study, we investigated the protective effect of cordycepin against 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA)-induced neurotoxicity and its underlying mechanism. We observed that cordycepin effectively inhibited 6-OHDA-induced cell death, apoptosis and mitochondrial dysfunction. Cordycepin also inhibited cell apoptosis induced by 6-OHDA as observed in the reduction of cytochrome c release from the mitochondrial as well as the inhibition of caspase-3. In addition cordycepin markedly reduced cellular malondialdehyde (MDA) content and intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) level. Cordycepin also significantly increased the antioxidant enzymes; superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activities in 6-OHDA-treated cells. The results obtained unambiguously demonstrated that cordycepin protects PC12 cells against 6-OHDA-induced neurotoxicity through its potent antioxidant activity.