Objective: Colorectal cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer related deaths, with recurrence and metastasis as the primary reasons for mortality. New evidence has implicated chemokines as the likely cause. We studied the positive expression of CXCR4 chemokine receptors in colorectal carcinoma and investigated its correlations to clinicpathological characteristics and prognosis. Methods: Tumor tissue specimens of patients with colorectal carcinoma (n = 67) who underwent surgery from January 2003 to December 2004 at the Department of Surgery, Tongji Hospital were collected. CXCR4 expression levels and tumor microvessel density were evaluated by immunohistochemistry. Specimens were immunostained using formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissues. The correlation between the CXCR4 expression and clinicopathological factors was evaluated. Results: In 67 cancer tissue specimens, CXCR4 was positively expressed in 38 cases, positive rate being 56.7%. Positive expression of CXCR4 is associated with an increasing incidence of nodal involvement, higher clinic stage,higher tumor microvessel density and a lower 3-year disease free survival rate as compared to those with negative CXCR4expression (P ＜ 0.05). Conclusion: Positive CXCR4 expression and high tumor microvessel density are associated with poor prognosis and could be a potential predictive factor for recurrence or metastasis of colorectal cancer patients. So CXCR4 may be a potential target for specific therapeutic interventions in the future.