To investigate the expression of E-cadherin and Vimentin protein in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and to analyze the relationship between their expression and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Immuno-chemical staining with SP method was conducted to detect the protein expression of E-cadherin and Vimentin in 44 lung cancer tissues. E-cadherin was highly expressed in all normal lung tissues, and Vimentin was lowly expressed in all normal lung tissues. The expression rate of E-cadherin and Vimentin was 40.9% and 25.0% in NSCLC cases. The expressions of E-cadherin and Vimentin were not associated with gender, age, histopathological grading, lymphatic metastasis or smoking status (P > 0.05). But they were associated with clinical stage (P < 0.05). In addition, a negative correlation between the E–cadherin and Vimentin was observed (Spearman’s r = ?0.397, p < 0.05). E-cadherin and Vimentin are involved in the transformation of epithelial cells into the mesenchymal cells, which play important role in the metastasis of lung cancer.