Objective To investigate the prognostic value of CDKN2A mRNA in glioblastoma (GBM).Methods CDKN2A gene mRNA data were obtained from three different GBM database online (TCGA,REMBARNDT and GSE16011).The correlations between overall survival (OS) and CDKN2A expression were analyzed by Kaplan-Meier method and multivariate Cox regression analysis.Results In the TCGA database (n =358),patients with high CDKN2A mRNA level got longer OS than those with low expression level [median OS:18.0 months (95 ％ CI 15.0-21.0 months) vs 13.9 months (95 ％ CI 12.4-15.4 months),P =0.001].In another two validation datasets,patients with high CDKN2A mRNA level had longer OS than those with low expression level [median OS in REMBRANT:16.6 months (95 ％ CI 13.3-19.8 months) vs 11.8 months (95 ％ CI 7.3-16.4 months),P =0.019; in GSE16011:11.9 months (95 ％ CI 8.3-15.6 months) vs 8.4 months (95 ％ CI 6.2-10.5 months),P =0.005].CDKN2A mRNA level was an independent prognostic factor for GBM.The combination of CDKN2A mRNA expression with MGMT promoter methylation status or G-CIMP status/IDH1 mutations provided an optimized prognostic factor in GBM patients.Conclusion The CDKN2A mRNA has prognostic value in GBM patients,which provided an optimized stratification strategy based on multiple biomarkers.