Objective To investigate the expression of c-erbB-2 and cathepsin D (cath-D) in primary breast carcinoma, and to analyze its relationship to the patients' clinicopathological status and its prognostic significance. MethodsThe immnohistochemical test were used to detect the expression of c-erbB-2 and cath-D in 128 patients with primary breast carcinoma. All data were statistically analyzed.ResultsThe positive expression rate of c-erbB-2 and cath-D was 36.5 % and 40.9 %, relatively. Cath-D was correlated with tumor size (x2 =21.0, P ＜0.0001) and lymph node status (35.29 % vs 63.83 %, P ＜0.0001). The Kaplan-Meier curve and log rank test indicated that the positive c-erbB-2 expression was a significant prognostic factor for patients disease free survival (P＜0.01). Conclusionc-erbB-2 and cath-D show a clinicopathological invasive characteristic. They are prognostic factors for patients with primary breast carcinoma, and also can be prognostic indicator for patients.