Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a common malignancy with a high incidence and mortality rate. Recent studies have pointed to deregulation of autophagy as a novel pathogenesis of human malignancy. SM22 is considered as a tumor suppressor. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the correlation of the SM22 expression level with the autophagy activity and the clinical characteristics in human CRC tissues. The expressions of SM22 and p62, a biomarker of autophagy activity, in paired tumor and adjacent non-tumor tissues from 43 patients with colorectal cancer were detected by western blot and immunohistochemical staining, respectively. The results showed that the SM22 level decreased significantly in 81.4% CRC tissues, while the expression of p62 increased in 79.1% cases. There was a negative correlation between p62 and SM22 expressions in colorectal cancer tissues (p = 0.004). Similarly, the negative correlation between 5M22 and p62 was verified in human CRC cell lines. The data suggest that the autophagy activity decreased in human CRC, which was associated with reduction in SM22 expression. However, the expression of SM22 was not associated with the gender, tumor site and Duke's stage of the patients. In conclusion, our findings suggest that the disruption of SM22 may be involved in tumorigenesis in CRC. The autophagic activity may be suppressed in human CRC, and SM22 may act as a positive regulator in the processes of autophagy. (C) 2013 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.