〔Abstract〕 Objective To investigate the correlation between the expression of SPNS2 in hepatocellular carcinoma and its epithelial-mesenchymal transition(EMT). Methods 10 fresh clinical specimens of HCC and 70 paraffin sections of HCC surgical specimens(including cancerous tissues and corresponding adjacent tissues) and clinical related pathological data were collected,and the two main markers of SPNS2 and EMT,N-cadherin( N-cadherin),E-cadherin( E-cadherin) expression in cancer and adjacent tissues were detected,and the correlation between SPNS2 and clinicopathological features and EMT was analyzed. Results The expression level of SPNS2,N-cadherin in cancer tissues were higher than those in adjacent tissues( P<0. 01),and the expression of E-cadherin was lower than that of adjacent tissues( P<0. 01). The analysis showed that SPNS2 was positively correlated with Ncadherin and negatively correlated with E-cadherin. The expression of SPNS2 in HCC was not associated with the patient's age,gender,and degree of differentiation,but was closely related to TNM grade and microvascular invasion. Conclusion SPNS2 is differentially expressed in HCC,and it may promote the occurrence of HCC by regulating EMT transcription factors. SPNS2 is closely related to TNM grade and microvascular invasion,and can be used for clinical prognosis assessment.