Objective To explore the expression and significance of arachidonate 12-lipoxygenase(ALOX12)in cancer tissues of colon cancer patients. Methods Tumor and paratumor tissues of 257 colon cancer patients were retrospectively collected,and the expression of ALOX12 were detected by immunohistochemical technique (IHC),to compare the differences in expression within the tumor and paratumor tissues,and the relationship between ALOX12 expression and clinicopathological features of colon cancer was analysed. The 5-year overall survival (OS) of the patients was analysed using Kaplan-Meier curves, and the factors affecting the 5-year OS of the patients were investigated by univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses. Results ALOX12 was more positively expressed in tumors compared to paratumor tissues (63.8% vs 33.1%), and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.001). The expression of ALOX12 was not significantly correlated with the patients" age,gender,and tumor site (all P>0.05),but was strongly correlated with TNM staging and lymph node metastasis (all P<0.05). Patient"s 5-year OS with high expression of ALOX12 was markedly lower than those patients with low expression(P<0.001). Single variable and multivariate analyses indicated that age,TNM staging,lymph node metastasis and ALOX12 expression were independent factors influencing the 5-year overall survival rate (all P<0.05). Conclusion High expression of ALOX12 is associated to TNM staging and lymph node metastasis of colon cancer, which can serve as biomarkers foto predict the patient"s condition and prognosis.