Objective To study the expression and significance of galanin (GLA) in the prostate carcinoma (PCa).Methods The samples from 50 patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and 50 patients with PCa and 30 PCa patients with bone metastasis were examined by immunohistochemical staining.Results The positive rates of GLA expression in BPH,PCa,and PCa with bone metastasis were 18 ％ (9/50),68 ％ (34/50),and 80 ％ (24/30),respectively,and there were statistically significant differences between PCa patients,PCa patients with bone metastasis and BPH patients (x2 =25.5,29.74,both P ＜ 0.01),but there was no significant difference between PCa patients and PCa patients with bone metastasis (x2 =1.35,P ＞ 0.05).Conclusion GLA has higher expression in prostatic cancer cells,it might be an important indicators for differentiating prostate cancer from benign prostatic hyperplasia and predicting the prognosis of prostate carcinoma.