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• Three new friedelane triterpenes and a new 30-norfriedelane triterpene were isolated from Anchietea pyrifolia. • Their structures were established based on spectroscopic techniques (HRMS and 1D/2D-NMR). • The new triterpenes exhibited moderate cytotoxic activities against HeLa and HL-60 cell lines. Anchietea pyrifolia, commonly known as woody liana, belongs to the Violaceae family and is being used in Brazil as a herbal medicine with anti-inflammatory, anti-allergic, and depurative properties. However, our knowledge on the phytochemicals that confer pharmacological properties to the plant extract remains limited. We report the identification of three new friedelane-type triterpenes (1 , 2a , 2b) and a new 30-norfriedelane triterpene (3) together with nine known compounds (4 - 12) that were isolated from the liana stems of A. pyrifolia. The structures of these compounds were elucidated by spectroscopic methods, including HRMS, and 1D/2D-NMR. In vitro cytotoxicity was assessed against two human cancer cell lines, HeLa and HL-60. The new triterpenes 1 - 3 and known compounds 9 , 11 , and 12 exhibited moderate activity with IC 50 values ranging from 5.7 to 45.0 μM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]