Abstract: To detect the expression of the autophagy gene Beclin1 during colorectal carcinoma progression and its correlation with proliferation and apoptosis-related genes. Methods: Immunohistochemistry was used to detect the expression of Beclin1, Bcl-2, caspase-9, caspase-3, and Ki-67 in the specimens of 29 cases with large intestinal mucosa, 60 with large intestinal adenoma, 19 with adenoma canceration, and 50 with colorectal carcinoma. Results: (1) Beclin1 expression was higher in colorectal carcinoma than in normal large intestinal mucosa. This high expression was related to the lymph node metastasis, but was not ralated to tumor differentiation. (2) The Bcl-2 expression level was higher in adenoma, canceration of the adenoma, and colorectal carcinoma than in the large intestinal mucosa, and was correlated with histologic differentiation or lymph node metastasis. Caspase-9 was correlated with the canceration of colorectal carcinoma, but not with histologic differentiation and lymph metastasis. Caspase-3 expression was higher in the group with normal large intestinal mucosa than in the other groups, and the protease expression level was higher in the non-metastatic group than in the metastatic group. However, the expression had no correlation with differentiation. (3) Ki-67 expression gradually increased, and there were statistical differences among the groups. The expressions were correlated with the differentiation and metastasis of the carcinoma. Conclusion: (1) Autophagy might be correlated with the carcinogenesis of colorectal carcinoma; however, with the progression of the tumor, the loss of the capacity for autophagy might promote invasion and metastasis. (2) Considering that the cell proliferates infinitely during carcinogenesis and cancer progression, autophagy and apoptosis coordinate with each other through internal molecular mechanisms, resulting in the cancer cells escaping the normal clearing mechanism of the body and developing into malignancy.