Veratrum nigrum L., which belongs to the family Liliaceae, is a well-known traditional medicinal plant in China, used for treating hypertension, blood-stroke, excessive phlegm, epilepsy, apoplexy, wind-type dysentery, jaundice, scabies, and chronic malaria. Phytochemical research showed it contains mainly steroidal alkaloids, with mixed alkaloids and some monomers exhibiting hypotensive, protective against ischemia-reperfusion injury, cytotoxic, antithrombotic, and anti-melanogenesis effects. The roots and rhizomes collected in Antu Prefecture, Jilin Province in June 2002 were extracted and isolated. Five known steroidal alkaloids (veratramine, veratrosine, jervine, germerine, germidine) were obtained, with veratrosine isolated from V. nigrum for the first time. The genus Veratrum has about 40 species with significant bioactivities, main compounds are steroidal alkaloids divided into five types. V. nigrum contains high amounts of veratramine type alkaloids, which may be a chemosystematic marker for this species.