Objective To study the expression of human giant larvae-1 (Hugl-1) in ovarian carcinoma and its clinical significance. Methods Hugl-1 mRNA expression in 31 ovarian cancer and the corresponding adjacent tissues was examined by real-time fluorescence quantitative RT-PCR and in situ hybridization. Moreover, analysis was done while taking into consideration of the clinicopathologic parameters of ovarian cancer. Results The expression of Hugl-1 mRNA in ovarian cancer tissue was significantly higher than that in the corresponding adjacent tissues (\[0.051±0.029\] vs \[0.026±0.043\],P<0.01); and the expression was not related to patient age, serum CA125 status, pathological characteristics or clinical stages of tumors. Conclusion Hugl-1 may play a role in the development and progresssion of ovarian cancer.