〔Abstract〕 Objective To investigate the expression of Fibulin-2 in hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC), and to explore the effects of Fibulin-2 on the biological changes of HepG2 hepatoma cells and the expression of matrix metalloproteinase-2(MMP-2), matrix metalloproteinase-9(MMP-9) and vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF).Methods The expression of Fibulin-2 in 20 cases of HCC carcinoma and paracancerous tissues was detected by Western blot and qRT-PCR.In the cell experiment,Fibulin-2 overexpression and silencing treatment were divided into common hepatocellular carcinoma group(common group),silence-NC group(Si-NC group),Fibulin-2 silencing group(Si group),overexpression-NC group and Fibulin-2 overexpression group.MTT colorimetry,cell scratch test,Transwell assay and flow cytometry were used to detect cell proliferation,migration,invasion and apoptosis rate.Western blot was used to detect the expression of MMP-2,MMP-9 and VEGF after Fibulin-2 overexpression or silencing.Results The results of qRT-PCR and WB experiments showed that the expression of Fibulin-2 in hepatocellular carcinoma tissues was significantly lower than that in corresponding paracancerous tissues at the translation and transcriptional levels(P<0.05).The expression levels of MMP-2,MMP-9 and VEGF in Si group were higher than those in common group(P<0 05).The migration,invasion and proliferation ability of HepG2 hepatoma cells were enhanced and the apoptosis rate was decreased(P<0 05).Compared with the normal group,the expression levels of MMP-2,MMP-9 and VEGF in the overexpression group were decreased,and the migration,invasion and proliferation ability of liver cancer cells were inhibited and the apoptosis was increased(P<0.05).Conclusion The expression of Fibulin-2 in HCC tissues was significantly lower than that in paracancerous tissues.Overexpression of Fibulin-2 could inhibit the malignant characteristics of HCC cells,while silencing Fibulin-2 could enhance the progression of HCC cells.Fibulin-2 may affect the biological characteristics of hepatocellular carcinoma cells by regulating the expression levels of MMP-2,MMP-9 and VEGF.