Duck hepatitis virus type 1 (DHV-1) infection of ducklings causes hepatitis and is associated with high morbidity and mortality. Virus infection may induce apoptosis and inhibit proliferation. In humans, ferritin heavy polypeptide 1 (FTH1) has been reported to affect the development of hepatitis and inhibit apoptosis. However, the effect of duck FTH1 (duFTH1) on apoptosis in DHV-1 infected ducklings has not been investigated. Therefore, we measured duFHT1 expression in tissues of DHV-1 infected ducklings and characterized the functional effects of ectopic overexpression and endogenous downregulation of FTH1 in duck embryo fibroblasts (DEF) to elucidate possible mechanisms involved. In the present study, the expression of duFTH1 was decreased in liver and spleen after DHV-1 infection. The effects of altered FTH1 expression on expression of pro- and anti-apoptotic genes were evaluated by qPCR arrays. Decreased expressions of Caspase-3 and Caspase-8 were observed in FTH1-overexpressing DEF cells, while decreased expression of Bcl-2 was detected in FTH1 knocked down DEF cells. Our findings suggest that the regulation of FTH1 expression indirectly mediated the expression of apoptosis-related genes; the protective effect of FTH1 was associated with the inhibition of apoptosis in DEF.