Is there a way to make gradient background color in the interface builder?

To draw a gradient, you will have to subclass and override the drawRect programmatically:

- (void)drawRect:(CGRect)rect
{
    CGContextRef context = UIGraphicsGetCurrentContext();

    CGContextSaveGState(context);
    CGColorSpaceRef colorSpace = CGColorSpaceCreateDeviceRGB();
    CGGradientRef gradient = CGGradientCreateWithColorComponents
                             (colorSpace,
                              (const CGFloat[8]){1.0f, 0.0f, 0.0f, 1.0f, 0.0f, 1.0f, 0.0f, 1.0f},
                              (const CGFloat[2]){0.0f,1.0f},
                              2);

    CGContextDrawLinearGradient(context,
                                gradient,
                                CGPointMake(CGRectGetMidX(self.bounds), CGRectGetMinY(self.bounds)),
                                CGPointMake(CGRectGetMidX(self.bounds), CGRectGetMaxY(self.bounds)),
                                0);

    CGColorSpaceRelease(colorSpace);
    CGContextRestoreGState(context);
}

The easiest way, which keeps your cells in the interface builder, is probably to subclass a UIView to have it draw a gradient in its drawRect and place it in your cell behind the other subviews:

GradientView *gradientView = [[GradientView alloc] init];
gradientView.frame = cell.bounds;
[cell addSubview:gradientView];
[cell sendSubviewToBack:gradientView];

However, the best way to do it is probably not to use the interface builder for this and make a subclass of UITableViewCell. For advanced customization, interface builders tend to only make things more complicated in my experience. That's up to personal preference though.