Abstract: Objective 　To explore the possible biological function of human nuclear receptor hLRH-1 in tumorigenesis and progress of colon cancer. Methods 　Plasmids pcDNA3-hLRH-1 were int roduced into SW480 cells via lipofectamine. The expression of mRNA and protein of exogenous hLRH-1 was detected by RT-PCR and Western blotting, respectively. MTT assay was carried out to survey the proliferation of SW480 cells with overexpression of hLRH-1. Meanwhile, the expression of proliferation-related genes cyclin E1 and cyclin D1, and apoptosis-related genes PTEN and Rb1, were analyzed by real-time RT-PCR. Results 　The proliferation of SW480 cells were promoted under the condition of overexpression of hLRH-1. The expression of cyclin E1 was up-regulated significantly, while that of Pten and Rb1 was down-regulated in SW480 cells with overexpressed hLRH-1. Conclusion 　The expression of exogenous hLRH-1 in SW480 cells induced the proliferation resulting form up-regulation of cyclin E1, as well as participated in the regulation of apoptosis via influencing the expression of Pten and Rb1.