Objective;To study the expression of Survivin and the relationship with proliferative activity in pancreatic carcinoma (PC). Methods;The expression of SurvivinmRNA was investigated by reverse transcriptasepolymerase chain reaction (RTPCR) in 62 cases of PC samples, 12 cases of chronic pancreatitis(CP) samples, and 10 cases of normal pancreatic tissue samples. Meanwhile,the expression of proliferative cell nuclear antigen(PCNA) was detected by immunohistochemical assay. Results;The expressionof Survivin gene was detected in a significantly greater proportion in PC (74.2%) than CP (0/12) and normal pancreatic tissue(0/10) (P＜0.05). There was no relationship between Survivin gene expression and histological differentiation, clinical stage, or lymph nodes metastasis of PC. Furthermore, Survivinpositive PC had higher PCNALI than that of survivin negative PC (P<0.01). Conclusions;The expression of Survivin gene is increased in PC and related to higher proliferation potential of PC, and that Suggested that survivin may play an important role in the pathogenesis and progression of PC. Survivin may be identified as a new potential diagnostic/therapeutic target of PC.