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<strong>Objective: </strong>Phenolic compounds have been considered inhibitors of various cancers.<br /> <strong>Material and Methods: </strong>In this study, caffeic acid and gallic acid were appraised for their possible effects on apoptotic genes expression in a breast cancer cell line <em>in vitro</em>. We also evaluated ligand interaction and ligand binding with estrogen receptor alpha by molecular docking. To determine half maximal inhibitory concentration, MCF-7 cells were treated with different concentrations of caffeic acid and gallic acid by 3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay. Furthermore, morphological changes in cells and alterations in <em>P53</em>, <em>Mcl-1</em> and <em>P21</em> gene expression were studied by real-time RT-PCR. Also, protein network and different interactions between the desired genes were analyzed using GeneMANIA database.<br /> <strong>Results:</strong> Evaluation of cell survival by MTT assay revealed that the half-maximal inhibitory concentration values for caffeic acid and gallic acid against MCF-7 cells, were 159 and 18 µg/ml, respectively. These compounds were found to affect <em>P53</em>, <em>Mcl-1</em> and <em>P21</em> gene expression; this alteration in gene expression probably occurred along with the activation of intrinsic apoptotic signaling pathway.<br /> <strong>Conclusion: </strong>Via apoptosis induction, caffeic acid and gallic acid have induce toxic effects and morphological changes in breast cancer cells, suggesting their possible future application as antitumor agents.