Human beings can carry out various life activities based on the daily intake of adequate nutrients. Once a shortage of nutrient intake occurs, it is inevitable that pathophysiological states of varying degrees will be manifested. Apoptosis and proliferation are among the most basic and important life activities of human cells. Our previous studies have shown that different nutritional status affects apoptosis and proliferation of oral mucosal cells. In this paper, we attempted to investigate whether short-term nutritional intake disorders would have an impact on the apoptosis and proliferation rates of oral mucosal cells. The current international classification of nutritional status is based on the ratio of body weight to height, subcutaneous fat thickness and some biochemical indicators (e.g. serum albumin, retinol protein, transferrin and prealbumin). However, from the clinical application, some of the indicators are stable and reliable, but they cannot reflect the changes of patients’ nutritional status in time; some of them are extremely sensitive, but they are easily affected by the diseases and clinical medications. Therefore, it is imperative to find indicators that can reflect the nutritional status of the body in a stable, sensitive and reliable manner. Under normal conditions, the oral mucosa cells in the human body are in a state of constant proliferation and apoptosis, and can be renewed by one generation almost every 4 hours, which is one of the most anabolic cells in the human body. Adequate nutritional intake is the material basis for DNA, RNA and protein synthesis to ensure frequent renewal of oral mucosal cells. Previously, our study showed that the apoptosis and proliferation rates of oral mucosal cells in patients with different nutritional status also differed significantly, indicating that this index is closely related to the nutritional status of patients. Therefore, we wondered whether the apoptosis and proliferation rates of oral mucosal cells could also reflect the short-term or acute nutritional disorders of patients. In our study, some patients undergoing chemotherapy showed significant nausea and vomiting, resulting in a significant reduction in food intake, and very severe patients refused to eat because of frequent nausea and vomiting, resulting in a short-term nutritional impairment. The rate of apoptosis and proliferation of oral mucosal cells decreased significantly in patients with more severe gastrointestinal reactions and less food intake. While some of the blood biochemical indicators reflecting the nutritional status showed slight changes, the differences were not statistically significant. During the concurrent period, there were no significant changes in erythrocytes, granulocytes and platelets, suggesting that chemotherapy had not yet led to myelosuppression, and the decrease in the apoptosis and proliferation rates of oral mucosal cells was not related to myelosuppression. Taken together, our study shows that the apoptosis and proliferation rates of oral mucosal cells can reflect the acute nutritional intake impairment of patients, which is closely related to the nutritional status of the organism. We also believe that measuring the nutritional status of the organism from the perspective of cell growth status meets the requirement of grasping the state of the organism as a whole compared with traditional indicators, and also reflects the nutritional status of the organism in a stable, sensitive and reliable manner. Throughout the study, we also observed that the status of oral mucosal cells was related to the way of cell retention, local inflammation of the patient’s oral cavity and alcohol consumption and smoking. Therefore, the interference of these factors was excluded as much as possible during the experiment. In conclusion, the rates of apoptosis and proliferation of oral mucosal cells can be used to assess the nutritional status of patients with short-term nutritional intake disorders. Once the underlying molecular mechanisms are revealed, it will deepen our understanding of the relationship between nutrition and the organism.