Objective To investigate the expressions of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR),heat shock protein 90A (HSP90A) and cathepsin D in nasopharyngeal carcinoma and their relationship with tumor invasion and metastasis.Methods From January 2014 to December 2015,58 patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (group A) in the First Affiliated Hospital of University of South China were selected,and the positive expression rates of EGFR,HSP90A and cathepsin D in biopsy specimens of nasopharyngeal carcinoma were detected by immunohistochemistry method.The positive expression rates of EGFR,HSP90A and cathepsin D in biopsy chronic rhinitis tissues of 30 patients with chronic rhinitis (group B) were also detected.T staging,N staging and lymphatic vessel density (LVD) of patients in group A were analyzed.In group A,the T staging,N staging and LVD of between patients with positive expression of EGFR,HSP90A and eathepsin D and those with negative expression of these indicators were compared,and the correlations of the expression of EGFR,HSP90A and cathepsin D to T staging,N staging and LVD were analyzed.Results The positive expression rates of EGFR,HSP90A and cathepsin D in group A were 86.21％,82.76％ and 87.93％ respectively,which were higher than 30.00％,26.67％ and 33.33％ in group B (P＜0.05).In group A,the percentages of patients on T3-T4 and N2-N3 stages and LVD of patients with positive expression of EGFR,HSP90A and cathepsin D protein respectively were higher than those of patients with negative expression of corresponding protein (P ＜ 0.05).Spearman correlation analysis showed that the positive expression rates of EGFR,HSP90A and cathepsin D in nasopharyngeal carcinoma were positively correlated with the T staging,N staging and LVD (EGFR:r=0.844,0.795,0.785;HSP90A:r=0.862,0.825,0.822;eathepsin D:r=0.842,0.815,0.863,P＜0.05).Conclusion EGFR,HSP90A and cathepsin D expression in nasopharyngeal carcinoma are closely related to invasion and metastasis of tumor,which may be used as reference indexes for the evaluation of tumor invasion and metastasis in nasopharyngeal carcinoma.