Caveolin-1 (Cav-1) is a major component of caveolae and has been recently identified as a tumor suppressor. As little is known about Cav-1 in hepatitis B virus (HBV)-associated hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC)， the aim of the present study was to investigate the expression and significance of Cav-1 in HBV-associated HCC. Semi-quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was performed to detect the mRNA expression level of Cav-1 in 40 cases of HBV-associated HCC， the corresponding 11 non-tumor cases of HBV-associated chronic hepatitis， 29 non-tumor cases of HBV-associated cirrhosis and 6 cases of normal liver tissues. Immunohistochemical analysis indicated the expression of Cav-1， cluster of differentiation 34 and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in HBV-associated HCC tissue samples. In addition， the association of Cav-1 expression with angiogenesis and clinicopathological characteristics of HBV-associated HCC was also analyzed. RT-PCR results demonstrated that the expression rate of Cav-1 mRNA in HBV-associated HCC， non-tumor HBV-associated chronic hepatitis and cirrhosis liver tissues and control normal liver tissues from patients with metastatic carcinoma was 92.5， 85.0 and 16.7%， respectively. mRNA expression level of Cav-1 was significantly increased in chronic hepatitis， cirrhosis and HBV-associated HCC livers compared with normal control livers (P<0.05 and P<0.01， respectively). Cav-1 protein was detected by immunohistochemistry in 80% of the samples of HBV-associated HCC. Furthermore， Cav-1 and VEGF protein expression levels were correlated with microvessel density (MVD; γ<0.46， P=0.01 and γ<0.31， P=0.05， respectively). In addition， Cav-1 expression and MVD were significantly associated with metastasis (P=0.031 and P=0.046， respectively). In conclusion， Cav-1 may have an important role in the carcinogenesis and progression of HBV-associated HCC and angiogenesis may be affected by Cav-1 during this process.