Objective: To investigate the role of nm23 gene expression in human lung cancer. Methods: Forty human lung cancer tissues and 19 non-cancer pulmonary tissues were studied for their nm23-H1 and nm23-H2 mRNA expression with non-radioactive Northern blot hybridization. The correlation of nm23 mRNA expression with clinical features of lung cancer was analyzed. Results: The mRNA expression of nm23-H2 gene in poorly differentiated squamous cell carcinoma was significantly decreased compared to that in moderate-high differentiated squamous cell carcinoma. The mRNA expression of nm23-H1 and nm23-H2 gene in small cell lung cancer was significantly decreased compared to that in squamous cell carcinoma. No significant difference in nm23 mRNA expression was observed between lung cancer with and without lymph node metastasis, nor was there significant difference between tumor stage. Conclusion: The mRNA expression of nm23 gene is correlated with the degree of differentiation of lung cancer, but there is no evidence of metastasis suppression effect by nm23 gene.