〔Abstract〕 Objective To investigate the role of iron uptake-related geneiucAin the pathogenesis of UropathogenicE.coli(UPEC),UPEC CFT073 strain was used to construct theiucAgene deletion strain ΔiucAby λ Red homologous recombination technology, and the complemented strain C-iucAwas also constructed. Methods The proliferation rates of CFT073, ΔiucAand C-iucAin Luria-Bertani liquid medium and sterile urine were determined by measuring the absorbance at 600 nm. Cultured 5637 human bladder cancer epithelial cells confluent monolayers were incubated with CFT073, ΔiucAand C-iucAfor adhesion and invasion ability assay. C57 BL/6 mouse urinary tract infection model was constructed to assess colonization ability of CFT073, ΔiucAand C-iucAin murine bladder tissues. Results Data showed that CFT073, ΔiucAand C-iucAdisplayed the similar proliferation curves in Luria-Bertani liquid medium(P=0.153). The proliferation rate of △iucAin sterile urine was lower than that of CFT073(P=0.001), while the proliferation rate of C-iucAin sterile urine was significantly higher than that of ΔiucA(P=0.005). △iucAdemonstrated much lower adhesion and invasion ability compared with CFT073(P=0.007, 0.002), and C-iucAshowed significantly higher adhesion and invasion ability than △iucA(P=0.046, 0.037). The colonization ability of △iucAin murine bladder tissues was much lower than that of CFT073 and C-iucA(P=0.002, 0.017). Conclusion The results indicateiucAgene may contribute to the proliferation, adhesion, invasion and colonization ability of UPEC.