The objective of this experiment was to explore the effects of vitamin C on the development of larvae and the viability of worker bees for Apis cerana cerana. The experiment contained 2 parts: larvae and worker bees'feeding trails. Larvae bees' feeding trail: eight hundred larvae for Apis cerana cerana were randomly distributed into 5 groups with 8 replicates in each group and 20 larvae in each replicate. The larvae in control group (group Ⅰ) were fed a basal diet containing 1.6 mg/kg vitamin C, and those in 4 experimental groups were fed experiment diets supplemented with 10 (group Ⅱ), 20 (group Ⅲ), 30 (group Ⅳ) and 40 mg/kg (group Ⅴ) vitamin C, respectively. Worker bees' feeding trail: one-day-old worker bees for Apis cerana cerana were distributed into 4 groups with 6 replicates in each group and 24 g (about 300 bees) in each replicate. The worker bees in control group (group Ⅵ) were fed a 1:1 sweet water, and those in 3 experimental groups were fed 1:1 sweet water supplemented with 50 (group Ⅶ), 500 (group Ⅷ) and 2 500 mg/kg (group Ⅸ) vitamin C, respectively. The results showed as follows: during the development stage of larvae, the body weight of 6-day-old larvae, 3-day-old pupae and new-emerged bees was increased firstly and then declined with the increase of vitamin C content, and that in groups Ⅱ and Ⅲ was significantly higher than that in control group (P<0.05). The pupation rate and eclosion rate of larvae showed trends similar with body weight. Moreover, the relative expression level of Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase (Cu/Zn-SOD) gene was also increased firstly and then declined with the increase of vitamin C content, and the relative expression level of Cu/Zn-SOD gene of 6-day-old larvae and 3-day-old pupae in experimental groups was significantly higher than that in control group (P<0.05). In the aspect of viability of worker bees, the average lifespan of worker bees was increased firstly and then decreased with the increase of vitamin C content. The average lifespan of worker bees in experimental groups was significantly higher than that in control group (P<0.05), and there was significant difference among experimental groups (P<0.05). With the increase of vitamin C content, the survival rate of worker bees was increased firstly and then decreased, while the relative expression level of Cu/Zn-SOD gene of 3, 9 and 15-day-old worker bees was decreased. In conclusion, the suitable contents of vitamin C in the artificial diet of larvae for Apis cerana cerana are 11.6 to 21.6 mg/kg; dietary vitamin C content has a great effect on the viability of worker bees for Apis cerana cerana.