In order to explore the effect of proanthocyanidins (PC) on goat semen freezing, PC were added to the 2% soybean lecithin (SL) based extender to the final concentration of 0, 10, 20, 40, 60 μg·mL-1 (SL0, SL1, SL2, SL3, SL4 groups) with 20% egg yolk as control (EY group). After freezing-thawing, sperm viability, motility, plasma membrane integrity, acrosome integrity, mitochondrial activity, antioxidant index and apoptotic state were detected. The results showed that the semen extender in the 40 μg·mL
-1 PC (SL3) had higher sperm viability, motility, plasma membrane integrity, acrosome integrity and mitochondrial activity after thawing (58.49%, 53.45%, 50.46%, 55.37% and 55.16%, respectively) than the other PC-based extender concentrations and EY group (
P<0.05). The contents of superoxide dismutase (SOD) (224.87 U·mL
-1) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-PX) (129.6 U·L
-1) of SL3 group were the highest, and the total caspase apoptotic rate (54.33%) and TUNEL apoptotic rate (41.36%) of SL3 group were the lowest, which were significantly different with EY and SL0 groups (
P<0.05). When the concentration of PC increased to 60 μg·mL-1, the quality indexes of thawed semen were significantly decreased, and the toxicity of PC was found in the goat semen freezing. In conclusion, 40 μg·mL
-1 PC addition in the diluent could reduce sperm oxidative damage, decrease apoptotic level and improve sperm quality. This study improved the effect of animal-free diluents in the freezing of goat semen, and increased the biosecurity and application prospect of goat frozen semen.