Poly(L-lactic)-acid (PLLA) as a drug carrier and a water-soluble drug timosaponin B-II (TB-II) as a model drug were selected to prepare drug-loaded nanofibers by electrospinning. The average diameters of pure PLLA nanofibers and TB-II-loaded nanofibers were 212.5 +/- 68.5, 219.7 +/- 57.8, 232.8 +/- 66.9, and 232.9 +/- 97.7 nm, respectively. DSC and XRD results demonstrated that TB-II was well incorporated into the nanofibers in an amorphous state. FI-TR spectroscopy indicated that TB-II had good compatibility with PLLA. In vitro release studies showed that TB-II was rapidly released from the nanofibers within 6 h, followed by a gradual release for long time. In vivo biosafety test revealed no noticeable toxicity of these TB-II nanofibers. The TB-II released from the nanofibers had obvious inhibition effect against human hepatocellular carcinoma SMMC 7721 cells both in vivo and in vitro. It was confirmed that the TB-II-loaded nanofibers were a sustained delivery system which could effectively inhibit the tumor growth and recurrence after surgery.