Abstract: The degree of hydrolysis was taken as the main index to screen animal protease, sea cucumber hydrolase, papain, aquatic protease, neutrase, protamex, flavourzyme, trypsin and alcalase for hydrolysis of sea cucumber Apostichopus joponicus. Based on the effect of single factors enzymolysis temperature, dosage of enzyme, hydrolyzation time and p H value on the degree of hydrolysis, the analysis of response surface method were carried out to optimize the hydrolysis process, and the sleep improvement function of the hydrolysate of Apostichopus joponicus at low, middle and high dosage obtained under optimal conditions were carried out.The results showed that the degree of aquatic protease hydrolysis was obviously higher than other enzymes tested in this paper. The effect of enzyme dosage on the degree of hydrolysis (DH) was significant (p<0.01) by the analyse of SPSS. By the RSM transactional analysis, the optimum enzymolysis conditions were optimized as follows :p H7, enzymolysis temperature 49℃, the ratio of enzyme to substrate 8% and time 4h, respectively.The DH was up to 28.0% under the optimum condition. The aquatic protease hydrolysate of sea cucumber Apostichopus joponicus had no effect to sleep-induced directly in rat, but in middle dosage it could obviously prolong the rats' sleep time which induced by pentobarbital sodium at under-threshold dosage (p<0.05) .