In this study, our results provide the first evidence that auranofin promotes the FOXO3 protein to translocate from the cytoplasm into the nucleus, where it upregulates the expression of the target genes Bax and Bim and downregulates the expression of Bcl-2 (an important gene regulating cell survival) in ovarian cancer cells. This evidence concerns the gene BCL2L11 and ovarian carcinoma.