Objective To investigate the adjuvant activity of polysaccharides from Ganoderma lucidum, Lycium barbaru, Versicolor, Astragalus and Lentinan on bone marrow-derived dendritic cells ( BMDCs) from C57BL/ 6 mice. Methods Bone marrow cells from C57BL/ 6 mice were cultured in the presence of granulocyte-macrophage colony- stimulating factor GM-CSF. After 6 days, immature BMDCs were collected and co-cultured with the polysaccharides of G. lucidum, L. barbaru, Versicolor, Astragalus or Lentinula. CpG oligodeoxynucleotides were used as a positive control. The cell surface expression of CD80, CD86 and MHCII were detected by fluorescence-activated cell sorting analysis. The release of cytokines interleukin (IL)-6, IL-12 and tumor necrosis factor TFN-α were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results Versicolor polysaccharides significantly upregulated the surface expression of CD80, CD86 and MHCII on BMDCs, as well as the release of the cytokines IL-6, IL-12 and TFN-α compared with the control group. Conclusions Versicolor polysaccharides promoted the maturation of BMDCs in vitro and may have potential as an adjuvant for vaccine preparations.