Five series of novel phenylsulfonylurea derivatives, 19a–d, 20a–d, 21a–d, 22a–d and 23a–d, bearing 4-phenylaminoquinoline scaffold were designed, synthesized and their IC50 values against four cancer cell lines (HepG-2, A549, PC-3 and MCF-7) were evaluated. Most compounds showed moderate cytotoxicity activity against the cancer cell lines. Structure–activity relationships (SARs) and pharmacological results indicated that introduction of 4-aminoquinoline scaffold and phenylsulfonylurea scaffold were beneficial for anti-tumor activity. Moreover, para-methoxyl substitution of 4-anilino moiety and para-halogen substitution of phenylsulfonylurea have different impacts on different series of compounds. Furthermore, the micromolecule group substitution in the 6-position of the quinoline ring have a slight impact on the cellular activity of the target compounds.
