Haematococcus pluvialis is a unicellular eukaryotic green alga and belongs to the Haematococcaceae family. It is known for its synthesis of a pigmented antioxidant called astaxanthin which has various commercial applications (e.g., food processing and cosmetics). In response to various environmental stresses H. pluvialis transforms itself into a vegetative non-motile encysted cell and rapidly synthesizes a large amount of astaxanthin intracellularly. Astaxanthin is a keto-carotenoid and important for protecting the cell from harmful oxidization caused by other cellular compounds generated in the metabolic reactions under the stressful situation. The objective of our project was to develop a new method to induce an accelerated production of astaxanthin in the H. pluvialis cells by manipulating a series of environmental factors (light, temperature, pH, and hypoxic stress). H. pluvialis was initially cultured under a standard laboratory condition and then treated under a series of modified environmental conditions (e.g., hypoxia, high light intensity, high temperature, and low pH) to illicit stress responses inside the cells. After the treatments the cells were harvested, processed, and the quantity of the astaxanthin accumulated in the cells was quickly quantified with a spectrophotometer. Our preliminary data suggested the hypoxic treatment could accelerate the synthesis of astaxanthin in the cells of H. pluvialis. Other experiments are in progress according our experimental designs.