To investigate the frequency of immunohistochemical expression of p53 protein in colorectal carcinomas; to evaluate the correlation between p53 alterations and the histopathological parameters; to determine the prognostic significance of this tumor marker. PATIENT POPULATIONS: Fourty patients with colorectal carcinomas.Paraffin embedded normal and tumoral tissues, stained, with HES, PAS, PAS-Alcian Blue stains. For detecting the p53 protein, a three step (streptavidin-biotin immunoperoxidase) immunohistochemical method was used.28 out of 40 (70%) colorectal carcinomas were positive for p53. The identification of nuclear accumulations of p53 protein in the present study was significantly correlated with the anatomic site and tumor stage.The mutational pattern observed in this study was substantially as expected. The p53 overexpression is present in advanced stage, thus demonstrating the prognostic value of this marker.