The in vitro and in vivo antitumor activity of a novel nucleoside, 4'-thio-2'-deoxy-2'-methylidenecytidine (4'-thio-DMDC), was examined. 4'-Thio-DMDC inhibited the growth of various cell lines established from human solid cancers, particularly the growth of lung and bladder carcinomas and melanomas. 4'-Thio-DMDC exhibited potent antitumor activity against subcutaneously implanted murine sarcoma S-180 and human fibrosarcoma HT-1080 xenografts. It was shown that 4'-thio-DMDC suppressed cell growth by inhibiting cellular DNA synthesis, and phosphorylation of the 5'-position of its deoxyribose by deoxycytidine kinase was needed for its antitumor activity. 4'-Thio-DMDC is a poor substrate for cytidine deaminase, thus it is a promising agent for the treatment of malignant solid tumors because it will not be converted into its inactive uridine form.