tFerns are famous traditional medicinal plants and 300 fern species have been used as phytomedicines bySouthwestern of China. However, there is little information on the phytochemicals and pharmacologicalcharacteristics of most fern species. The total flavonoid concentrations, antioxidant activity, anticanceractivity, and acetylcholinesterase inhibition of extracts from 19 species of ferns were investigated. Thetotal flavonoid concentrations ranged from 8.6 to 306.4 mg/g (w/w). The antioxidant activity includingDPPH free radical scavenging, ABTS radical scavenging, and superoxide anion scavenging, reducing powerand ferric reducing antioxidant potential (FRAP) of flavonoid extracts from these ferns showed a weaklinear relationship with their total flavonoid concentrations. Selaginella frondosa with very low totalflavonoid concentration (13.4 mg/g) showed highest inhibition against A549 cells and it is necessary tofurther investigate the anti-cancer compounds in S. frondosa. The extracts from Davallia cylindrica Chingand Stenoloma chusanum Ching significantly inhibited AChE activity, which illustrated that it is worthyof attention to investigate flavonoids from D. cylindrica and S. chusanum as AChE inhibitors