Objective To investigate the mRNA and protein expression of cyclin E1 (CCNE1) in gastric carcinoma tissues, and to evaluate its relationship with the development and progression of gastric carcinoma. Methods Oncomine (a cancer microarrays database) was used to analyze the expression of CCNE1 in gastric carcinoma. The mRNA expression of CCNE1 was detected in 34 paired carcinoma and adjacent normal tissues by SYBR Green real-time PCR.Meanwhile, tissue chip/tissue microarray (TMA) technique and immunohistochemistry method were adopted to detect the protein expression of CCNE1 in the 34 matched tissues. Results The CCNE1 mRNA expression was significantly higher in the primary carcinoma tissues than that in adjacent normal tissues (P=0.001); the CCNE1 mRNA expression levels in stage Ⅰ+Ⅱand stage Ⅲ+Ⅳ gastric cancer tissues were both significantly up-regulated (P=0.042,P=0.016). The positive rate of CCNE1 protein was significantly higher in primary carcinoma tissues (41.2%, 14/34) than those in the tumor-adjacent normal tissues (0, 0/34) and gastritis tissues (0, 0/34, P=0.01). CCNE1 protein expression was significantly different in gastric cancer tissues of different differentiation degrees, invasion depths, and lymph node metastasis statues (P<0.05). Conclusion Up-regulated expression of CCNE1 may contribute to the pathogenesis and progression of gastric carcinoma,and detection of CCNE1 may provide reference for diagnosis and prognosis of gastric carcinoma.