series of novel 1,3,4-thiadiazine derivatives were synthesized via chemical optimization on phthiobuzone. Their anti-herpes simplex virus (HSV) activities in vitro were also tested. Several compounds exhibited more highly potent anti-HSV activity and much higher selectivity index (SI) values than those of phthiobuzone. The most potent anti-HSV compound was 4f, which showed marked inhibition against HSV-1