The intestinal epithelium constitutes an innate barrier which, upon injury, undergoes self-repair processes known as restitution. Although, bile acids are known as important regulators of epithelial function in health and disease, their effects on wound healing processes are not yet clear. Here we set out to investigate the effects of the colonic bile acids, deoxycholic acid (DCA) and ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) on epithelial restitution. Wound healing in T84 cell monolayers grown on transparent, permeable, supports was assessed over 48 hrs {plus minus} bile acids. Cell migration was measured in Boyden chambers. mRNA and protein expression were measured by RT-PCR and Western blotting. DCA (50 - 150 µM) significantly inhibited wound closure in cultured epithelial monolayers and attenuated cell migration in Boyden chamber assays. DCA also induced nuclear accumulation of the farnesoid X receptor (FXR), while an FXR agonist, GW4064 (10 µM), inhibited wound closure. Both DCA and GW4064 attenuated the expression of CFTR Cl- channels, while inhibition of CFTR activity with either CFTR-inh-172 (10 µM) or GlyH-101 (25 µM) also prevented wound healing. Promoter/reporter assays revealed that FXR-induced downregulation of CFTR is mediated at the transcriptional level. In contrast, UDCA (50 - 150 µM) enhanced wound healing in vitro and prevented the effects of DCA. Finally, DCA inhibited and UDCA promoted mucosal healing in an in vivo mouse model. In conclusion, these studies suggest bile acids are important regulators of epithelial wound healing and are therefore good targets for development of new drugs to modulate intestinal barrier function in disease treatment.