Objective To investigate the beneficial effect of Inula Britannica flower total flavonoids (IBFTF) on aging bone mesenchymal stem cell (BMSC) and its potential mechanism. Methods The aging BMSCs were induced by D-galactose, and then treated with 12.5, 25, 50 μg/mL IBFTF. The cell viability was detected by CCK-8 assay. The activity of catalase (CAT) and superoxide dismutase (SOD), the content of malondialdehyde (MDA) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) were measured by a commercial kit. The apoptosis was assessed by flow cytometry. The protein expressions of BAX, Bcl-2 and cleaved-caspase-3 (c-caspase-3) were determined by Western blotting. Results The cell viability and the activity of SOD and CAT in the aging group decreased significantly compared with the normal group, whereas different concentrations of IBFTF promoted the cell viability, and simultaneously increased the activity of SOD and CAT. The apoptosis, the ROS production, the content of MDA, BAX/Bcl-2 ratio and the protein expression of c-caspase-3 in the aging group increased obviously compared with the normal group. However, the treatment of different concentrations of IBFTF reduced the apoptosis, the ROS production, the content of MDA, BAX/Bcl-2 ratio and the protein expression of c-caspase-3. Conclusion IBFTF can attenuate the apoptosis of aging BMSCs by anti-oxidation.