Abstract: Objective : There may be a close relationship among the expression of VEGF-C and its receptor Flt-4 and lymphangiogenesis and lymph node metastasis in malignant tumor. The purpose of this study was to comparethe relationship among VEGF-C mRNA espression , Flt-4 mRNA expression ,density of lymphatic vessles, and pathology parameters in colorectal cancer. Methods : Lymphatic vessles were stained by enzyme histochemical method. VEGF-C mRNA and Flt-4 mRNA were determined by RT-PCR. Results : There was a statistically positive correlation between the incidence of VEGF-C and Flt-4 mRNA expression in colorectal cancer (P<0.05). The number of lymphatic vessels in VEGF -C mRNA positive tumors was significantly larger than that in VEGF -C negative tumors (27.61±5.80 , 18.12±6.38A (P<0.05A , similarly , the number of lymphatic vessels in Flt-4 mRNA positive tumors was larger than that in Flt-4 negative tumors (25.34±7.22,18.93±8.30)(P< 0.05). Both the expression of VEGF-C and Flt-4 were closely related to the lymph node metastasis. VEGF-C expression were related to the depth of tumor invasion , but the expression of Flt-4 were related to the grade of tumor differentiation. Conclusion : VEGF-C may induce the proliforation of lymphatic vessels in the stroma of primary colorectal cancer via activation of Flt-4. As a result , cancer cells can easily invade the lymphatic vessel.