Resumo. The autoclaving used for sterilization of glassware, culture media and surgical materials in laboratory is a costly operation, due to the high cost of the equipment and the equally high consumption of energy. For these reasons, the substitution of this sterilization technique for another less costly one, such as chemical sterilization, would be highly desirable. The present study aimed to compare the techniques of sterilization of plant tissue culture media with sodium hypochlorite and that of autoclaving, in Sequoia sempervirens culture, in order to develop a less costly technique in the sterilization of glassware and nutrient media for plant tissue culture. In the trial with Sequoia sempervirens, the concentrations of sodium hypochlorite added to the culture media were (w/v): 0% (autoclaved); B) 0.002%; C) 0.003%; D) 0.004% and E) 0% (without autoclaving). It was observed that the concentrations equal to or higher than 0.003% of total chlorine added to the nutrient media resulted in complete sterilization, as well as in plants with larger numbers and shoots lengths.