Objective To investigate the expressions and clinical significance of epidermal growth factor receptor(EGFR) in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma(NPC). Methods 55 cases with NPC and 20 cases with noncancerous nasopharyngeal epithelial samples were retrospectively studied and the expressions of EGF and IGF-1 receptors were detected by immunohistochemical staining. Results The positive rate of EGFR 96.3% (53/55) in nasopharyngeal carcinoma was significantly higher than the 10% ( 2/20 ) in normal nasopharyngeal mucosa ( x2 =7. 123,P ＜ 0. 01 ) ;EGFR protein over-expression in nasopharyngeal carcinoma with lymph node metastasis, distant metastasis were correlated ( x2 = 3. 785, x2 = 3. 845, P ＜ 0. 05 ); The 5 -year overall survival ( OS ) in NPC was 65. 5 %,The patients with low expression of 5-year overall survival 75.35% was significantly higher than the 52.4% in high expression( x2 = 3. 925,P ＜ 0. 05 ); Using Cox proportional hazards model analysis showed that T stage, N stage and age are OS independent prognostic factor(P =0.001 ,P=0. 009,P =0.019). Conclusion EGFR had synergistic effects and may play an important role in the development and progression of NPC. The expression of EGFR could be useful biomarkes to assess clinical status and prognosis of patients with NPC.