Objective To study the correlation of the expression of Gli1 and clinicopathological parameters as well as the expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) in laryngeal squamous cell carcinomas (LSCC) so as to provide a new diagnostic and therapeutic target in LSCC. Methods Immunohistochemical staining for the paraffin sections was used for detecting the expression of Gli1 and PCNA in 40 specimens of LSCC. Their correlations were analyzed statistically. Results The expression of Gli1 was evaluated by the immunoreactive score. The positive rate of Gli1 in the 40 specimens was 100%. The expression of Gli1 was significantly related to pathologic grade(P=0.000) and lymphatic metastasis (P＝0.001), but not to these elements such as patients’ age (P＝0.572), sex (P＝0.837), tumor site (P＝0.947), and tumor T stage (P＝0.560). The expression of Gil1 was positively correlated with that of PCNA in LSCC. Conclusion The abnormal activation of Gli1 plays an important role in the carcinogenesis and development of LSCC. The possible mechanism may be that Gli1 can facilitate cell proliferation of LSCC.