Objective To investigate the role of Maspin protein in the development of oral squamous cell carcinoma（OSCC）, with the effort to realize practical diagnosis use of them. Methods The expression status of Maspin protein in 45 cases of OSCC, 33 cases of paratumor tissue and 15 cases of normal tissue was examined by immunohistochemical staining. Results The positive rates of Maspin protein were 86.67%（13/15）, 72.73%（24/33） and 37.78%（17/45） in normal tissue, paratumor tissue and OSCC. The expression of Maspin protein increased respectively in OSCC, paratumor tissue and normal tissue. The expression were different between OSCC and normal tissue, OSCC and paratumor tissue, paratumor tissue and normal tissue（P
