Abstract: objectiveTo investigate the expressions and significance of β-arrestin1 and matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) in hepatocecullar carcinoma patients. Methods The tumor tissues and tumor-adjacent tissues were simultaneously collected from 35 patients in operation with diagnosed hepatocellular carcinoma，which included 23 cases of phase Ⅱ and 12 cases of phase Ⅲ. And 15 non-tumor tissues were enrolled in this study as the normal control (NL group). Then the mRNA and protein expression of β-arrestin1 were detected by using quantitative real-time RT-PCR and Western blot respectively. The protein concentration of MMP-9 of these tissues was measured by ELISA. Results All the mRNA and protein expressions of β-arrestin1 were measured in the samples of normal liver tissues，HCC tumor and its adjacent tissues. Compared with the normal group and tumor-adjacent group，the mRNA and protein expressions of β-arrestin1 in HCC group of different clinical phases increased significantly (P<0.05). The expression level was increased with the advanced phases. The concentration of MMP-9，increased in HCC tumor tissues，was positively correlated with β-arrestin1 expreesion(P<0.05) . ConclusionThe expressions of β-arrestin1 significantly up-regulated in HCC tumor tissues，which was positively related to the concentration of MMP-9，indicating that they might be related to progression of hepartocecullar carcinoma and to be the diagnosis and therapy target of HCC.