Catechol also known as pyrocatechol or 1,2-dihydroxybenzene is formed endogenously in the organism from neurotransmitters including adrenaline, noradrenaline, and dopamine. It is also a metabolite of many drugs like DOPA, isoproterenol or aspirin and it is also formed in the environment during transformation of various xenobiotics. We evaluated in vitro the effect of catechol on the structure and function of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). The cells were incubated with xenobiotic at concentration range from 2 to 500μg/mL for 1h. Human blood mononuclear cells were obtained from leucocyte-platelet buffy coat taken from healthy donors in the Blood Bank of Łódź, Poland. Using flow cytometry we have evaluated necrotic, apoptotic and morphological changes in PBMCs incubated with catechol. Moreover, we have estimated changes in reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation, protein carbonylation and lipid peroxidation in the cells studied. The compound studied provoked necrotic (from 250μg/mL), apoptotic (from 100μg/mL), and morphological changes (from 250μg/mL) in the incubated cells. We have also noted that catechol decreased H2DCF oxidation at 2 and 10μg/mL but at higher concentrations of 250 and 500μg/mL it caused statistically significant increase in the oxidation of this probe. We also observed an increase in lipid peroxidation (from 250μg/mL) and protein carbonylation (from 50μg/mL) of PBMCs. It was observed that catechol only at high concentrations was capable of inducing changes in PBMCs. The obtained results clearly showed that catechol may induce change in PBMCs only in the caste of poisoning with this compound.