Abstract: Objective To explore β-catenin gene mutations and protein expression in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma（HCC） in Guangxi. Methods β-catenin gene mutations and protein expression were analyzed in 108 HCC tissues by direct sequencing and immunohistochemistry，respectively. Results Mutations in the β-catenin gene were found in 12 of 108 HCC tissues， giving a mutation rate of 11.1%.The overall rate of positive β-catenin protein expression was 70.0%，including samples that were nuclear-positive （14.6%），cytoplasm-positive（57.3%）and membrane-positive（28.0%）.The protein was expressed in 100% of the tissues carrying β-catenin gene mutations. Conclusions HCC patients in Guangxi show a relatively low rate of β-catenin gene mutation.These mutations may play an import role in hepatocarcinogenesis by causing over-expression of β-catenin protein.

Key words: Liver neoplasms, β-catenin, Mutation