Objective To study the cGAS/ STING signaling pathway and investigate the potential effect of emodin(EMD) on autophagy of human rheumatoid arthritis fibroblast synovial cells (MH7A). Methods CCK-8 method was used to detect MH7A cell proliferation, and the experimental concentration of EMD was screened according to cell survival rate. Then, autophagy inhibitor 3-MA was added to further verify the effect of EMD on autophagy. Autophagy of MH7A cells was detected via the monodansylcadaverine staining method. Protein expression levels of cGAS, STING, p-STING, LC3-I, LC3-II, P62 and Beclin-1 were detected by Western blot. Results Monodansylcadaverine staining indicated that EMD enhanced the autophagy of MH7A cells. Western blot indicated that EMD decreased the expression of autophagy related proteins cGAS, STING, p-STING and P62, and increased that of LC3-II and Beclin-1 in MH7A cells. After addition of the autophagy inhibitor 3-MA, the expression of P62 protein in MH7A cells increased, while that of LC3-II and Beclin-1 decreased. Conclusions EMD may accelerate autophagy and inhibit MH7A cell proliferation by down-regulating cGAS/ STING signaling pathway proteins.