Abstract: Objective : To investigate the expression of cyclo- oxygenase-2 (COX-2) and vascular endothelial growth factor(YEGF-C) in gastric cancer and the correlation with lymphangiogenesis, lymph node metastasis and prognosis. Methods : The expression of COX-2, VEGF-C and it's receptor, YEG-FR-3, was evaluated in 51 cases with gastric cancer and 15 paraneoplastic tissue specimens by immunohistochemical staining SABC methods. The lymphatic vessels density (LVD) in tumor was counted and analyzed with clinicopathologic parameters. Results : The positive rate of COX-2 and of VEGF-C was 62.8% and 60.7% respectively in gastric cancer tissue. The expression of COX- 2 was positively correlated with VEGF-C (r=0.74, P<0.01), clinical stage (r=0.34, P<0.05), LYD(r=0.69, P<0.01) and lymph node metastasis (r=0.57, P<0.01), but was negatively correlated with pathologic differentiation (r=-0.58, P<0.01). The expression of VEGF-C was positively correlated with LVD (r=0.45, P<0.01) and lymph node metastasis (r=0.46, P <0.05). COX- 2 expression was negatively correlated with a 5 -year survival rateP The 5 -year survival of patients with negative COX-2 expression was significantly higher compared to that with positive COX-2 expression (P<0.05). Conclusions : In gastric cancer, the expression rate of COX-2 and VEGF - C was high. . COX-2 expression was positively correlated with VEGF - C,LYD and lymph node metastasis. It is presumed that COX - 2 can promote the metastasis of lymph node in tumor by inducing VEGF - C expression, and the detection of COX - 2 in gastric cancer tissues will be of significance for prediction of the prognosis.