Abstract: Objective To investigate the relationship between the expression of Plk1 protein and the development of tumor and the long-term survival rate in cervical cancer patients.Methods Eighty cases of cervical cancer tissue (cervical cancer group), 40 cases of cervical epithelial tumor (CIN group) and 40 cases of normal cervical tissue (control group) were collected in the pathology department of our hospital from January 2011 to December 2012. The expression of Plk1 protein in three groups of specimens was detected by immunohistochemical staining, and the relationship between the expression of Plk1 protein and the development of cervical cancer and the long-term survival rate was analyzed.Results The positive expression rate of Plk1 in cervical cancer group was73.75%, which was significantly higher than that in CIN group (45.00%) and control group (12.50%). The difference was statistically significant among the three groups (P< 0.05). The positive expression of Plk1 protein in cervical cancer group was significantly correlated with degree of differentiation, FIGO stage, lymph node metastasis, interstitial infiltration and Lymph vascular invasion (P< 0.05). There was no significant correlation between the positive expression of Plk1 protein in cervical cancer group and tumor diameter and age (P> 0.05). There was no difference in the 3-year survival rate between the patients with Plk1 positive expression (76.27%) and patients with Plk1 negative expression (85.71%) in cervical cancer group. The 5-year survival rate of patients with Plk1 positive expression (40.68%) was significantly lower than that of Plk1 negative expression (66.67%) in cervical cancer group (P< 0.05).Conclusion Compared with CIN and normal cervical tissues, Plk1 protein is significantly up-regulated in cervical cancer tissues and it is closely related to tumor progression and long-term survival.