Objective To identify differentially expressed long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in different Fuhrman grade renal cell carcinoma (RCC) tissues, and to investigate the association of one of these lncRNAs-renal carcinoma related factor (RCRF) with the clinicopathologic features of RCC patients, helping the prognosis of RCC patients. Methods A total of 6 RCC tumor tissues were used for lncRNA chip screening, with 3 being FuhrmanⅠgrade and the rest being Fuhrman Ⅲ-Ⅳ grade. Then another 40 RCC tumor tissues (22 FuhrmanⅠ-Ⅱgrade and 18 Fuhrman Ⅲ-Ⅳ grade) and the matched adjacent noncancerous tissues were subjected to qPCR examination for RCRF expression, and the relationship of RCRF expression with the clinical stage, tumor grade, lymph node metastasis and distant metastasis was analyzed. Results A total of 320 differentially expressed lncRNAs were screened out from RCC tumor tissues. Compared with the adjacent normal tissues, RCC tissues, especially the high grade ones, had significantly up-regulated RCRF expression(P<0.01). It was also found that RCRF expression was associated with the pathological grade, lymph node metastasis and distant metastasis of RCC (P<0.05). Conclusion RCRF is up-regulated in high Fuhrman grade tissues and may affect the prognosis of RCC patients.