Abstract: Objective Many investigations have showed that tumor necrosis factor-α（TNF-α）participated into tumor angiogenesis. By exploring the expression of TNF-α and angiogenesis in oral squamous cell cancer(OSCC) and pericancerous tissue, we studied the correlation of the expression of TNF-α and angiogenesis. Methods The expression of TNF-α and microvessel counts were assessed by immunohistochemical methods of SABC in paraffin section of 41 OSCC and 10 cases of pericancerous tissues. Results The expression of TNF-α in the OSCC group was significantly higher than that in the pericancerous group(P＜0.01); microvessel counts in OSCC group was higher than that in the pericancerous group(P＜0.01).The expression of TNF-α was significantly correlated to the microvessal counts（P＜0.01）. Conclusion TNF-α play a key role in angiogenesis of OSCC. But its mechanism and clinical significance need further investigations.