Abstract: We sought to investigate the significance of p53 expression for epithelial ovarian carcinoma. In this study, we used immunohistochemical method to investigate the expression patterns of p53 in different subtypes of epithelial ovarian carcinoma. We found that the expressions of p53 protein in epithelial ovarian cancer (pituita, serosity and intima) were 88.9%, 75% and 100%, respectively, while the recurrence rates among three cancer subtypes were significantly different (33.3%, 12.5% and 0%, respectively; P < 0.05). Compared with patients without lymph node metastasis, the expression of p53 in patients with lymph node metastasis was significantly strong (68.75% and 100%, respectively; P < 0.05). However, the recurrence rate in the patients with lymph node metastasis (40%) was higher than that without lymph node metastasis (6.25%, P < 0.05). The expressions of p53 protein in ovarian cancer between Ⅰ-Ⅱ (25%) stage and Ⅱ-Ⅳ stage (100%) were significantly different (P < 0.05), and the recur-rence rates between the two groups were significantly different (0% and 31.25%, respectively, P < 0.05). There-fore, p53 protein has an intimate relationship with the malignant degree and the prognosis of ovarian cancer.