Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative joint disease frequently seen in the elderly population. Sinapic acid (SA), a commonly found phenolic acid, has been pharmacologically evaluated for its anti-inflammation effects in various studies. To explore its potential therapeutic role for OA, rat chondrocytes were treated with IL-1 beta (10 ng/ml) with different concentrations of SA in vitro. Our study revealed that SA could inhibit the IL-1 beta-induced production of nitric oxide (NO) and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2). Consistent with these findings, the increased protein levels of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase (Cox)-2 could also be downregulated by SA. Moreover, SA could also suppress the IL-1 beta-induced expression of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-1, MMP-3, MMP-13, and a disintegrin and metalloproteinase with thrombospondin motifs 5 (ADAMTS5) in chondrocytes. Furthermore, our data found that SA could suppress the IL-1 beta-induced mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway activation. In general, this paper elucidates that sinapic acid inhibits the IL-1 beta-induced inflammation via MAPK pathways and may be a good agent for the treatment of OA.