Asthma is characterized by airway inflammation and mucus hypersecretion. Curcumin possessed a potent anti-inflammatory property involved in the PPAR gamma-dependent NF-kappa B signaling pathway. Then, the aim of the current study was to explore the value of curcumin in asthmatic airway inflammation and mucus secretion and its underlying mechanism. In vivo, mice were sensitized and challenged by ovalbumin (OVA) to induce chronic asthma. Airway inflammation and mucus secretion were analyzed. In vitro, BEAS-2B cells were obtained. MCP-1, MUC5AC, and PPAR gamma expression and the phosphorylation of NF-kappa B p65 and NF-kappa B p65 DNA-binding activity were measured in both the lungs and BEAS-2B cells. shRNA-PPAR gamma was used to knock down PPAR gamma expression. We found that OVA-induced airway inflammation and mucus hypersecretion in mice, OVA and IL-4-induced upregulation of MCP-1 and MUC5AC, suppression of PPAR gamma, and activation and translocation of NF-kappa B p65 were notably improved by curcumin both in vivo and in vitro. Our data also showed that these effects of curcumin were significantly abrogated by shRNA-PPAR gamma. Taken together, our results indicate that curcumin attenuated OVA-induced airway inflammation and mucus hypersecretion in mice and suppressed OVA- and IL-4-induced upregulation of MCP-1 and MUC5AC both in vivo and in vitro, most likely through a PPAR gamma-dependent NF-kappa B signaling pathway.