Objective:To investigate the clinical significance of thrombospondin-2 (THBS2) mRNA expression in gastric carcino-ma and its relationships with clinicopathologic features, microvessel density (MVD), and matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2). Meth-ods:THBS2 mRNA expression was detected in 82 cases of gastric carcinomas and adjacent tissues using real-time quantitative fluores-cence polymerase chain reaction. The correlation of this expression with clinicopathologic features was also analyzed. Cluster of differ-entiation 34 (CD34) and MMP-2 protein expression was examined using an immunohistochemical Elivision method. MVD was deter-mined based on CD34-positive tubular structures. Results:The THBS2 mRNA expression level was significantly higher in the gastric carcinomas than in paraneoplastic tissues (P=0.002). The expression was associated with the depth of tumor invasion, MVD, and MMP-2 (P=0.02, r=0.35, P<0.01, and P=0.004, respectively) but not with patient gender, patient age, tumor size, histological type, and lymph node metastasis (P=0.53, P=0.53, P=0.21, P=0.84, and P=0.96, respectively). Conclusions: THBS2 may be significantly in-volved in the occurrence and progression of gastric carcinoma. The effects of THBS2 on gastric tumor growth and metastasis can be monitored by controlling the MMP-2 expression in the carcinoma. However, the specific functions and underlying mechanisms of TH-BS2 require further investigation.