Abstract: Objective To investigate the expression and mutation of p73 gene in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Methods The expression of p73 mRNA was detected by realtime quantitive reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RQRTPCR) , and then the mutation of this gene was analyzed by PCRsingle strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP). Results The expression level of p73 mRNA in 58 NPC specimens (3.56±3.14) was significantly higher than that in 23 of chronic nasopharyngitis (1.93±1.39) (P<0.01). The expression level of this gene was correlated with the clinical stage of NPC. The ΔCT values of Ⅲ, Ⅳ stages were lower than those of Ⅰ, Ⅱ stages (P<0.05) while the RQ values of Ⅲ, Ⅳ stages were higher than those of Ⅰ, Ⅱ stages (P<0.05). The SSCP results showed mutation of p73 gene in one NPC specimen (1.72%) and none in chronic nasopharyngitis specimens. Conclusion The p73 gene is overexpressed and mutated in NPC tissues, which might be associated with the development of NPC.