Background: Previous studies have shown that angiogenesis, which is regulated by vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and its receptors (VEGFRs) and could assessed by microvessel density (MVD), is important for tumor growth and progression. Nonetheless, the relation between angiogenesis and prognosis of soft tissue sarcoma (STS) remains controversial. Methods: VEGF, VEGFR2 and CD34 protein expression were analyzed by immunohistochemistry in 94 paraffin-embedded tumor tissues of soft tissue sarcoma. MVD was measured by counting vessels stained with CD34 antibody. The associations among VEGF/VEGFR2 protein expression, MVD and prognosis were analyzed by statistical analyses. Results: High levels of VEGF protein expression was found to be significantly correlated with high levels of VEGFR2 (P<0.001) and MVD in the high VEGFR2 expression group, but not high VEGF expression group, was observed to be significantly greater than that in the low VEGFR2 expression group (P=0.007). In the univariate analyses, VEGF (P=0.003) and VEGFR2 (P=0.002) were significant negative prognostic indicators of overall survival. While in multivariate analysis, high expression of VEGF was an independent significant negative prognostic factor for overall survival among patients with soft tissue sarcoma. Conclusion: VEGF is a significant independent negative prognostic factor for patients with soft tissue sarcoma and might be a potential adjuvant therapeutic target.