Objective To investigate the expression feature of cx43 and E-cadherin protein in non-small cell lung cancer and its clinical significance. Methods Paraffin embedded tissue from 50 cases of primary lung carcinomas and 20 non lung carcinomas cases were investigated for expression of Cx43 and E-cadherin by immunohistochemistry(ABC method), and the relationship between Cx43, E-cadherin and the clinical pathology of lung carcinomas was analyzed. Results Positive rate of Cx43 and E-cadherin expression in lung cancer was 54 % and 46 %, respectively. There were expression of Cx43 and E-cadherin in all 20 non lung carcinomas cases. The positive rate of Cx43 and E-cadherin expression gradually decreased with tumor progression. There were a distinct statistic difference between stageⅠ, stageⅡand stage Ⅲ, stage Ⅳ. The expression of Cx43 and E-cadherin in well-moderate pathological grading were higher than those in poor. Significant relationship was found between the positive rate of E-cadherin and lymph node metastasis. Primary lung carcinoma with lymph node metastasis showed no higher expression of Cx43 than lung carcinoma without lymph node metastasis. The positive rate of Cx43 expression in adenocarcinoma was significantly higher than that in squamous cell carcinoma and large cell un-differentiated carcinoma. The expression of E-cadherin was not related to pathological typing. Conclusion Cx43 and E-cadherin can be looked as the important index for judging the metastasis and prognosis of lung cancer.