objective  To investigate the expression of FOXA2 in pancreatic carcinoma, and to explore the effects of specific silencing of FOXA2 gene expression on the proliferation, migration and invasion of PANC1 cells. Methods  A total of 71 cases of patients with pancreatic carcinoma underwent elective surgical resection in Zhengzhou Central Hospital were selected from Jan. 2010 to Jan. 2013. All patients were followed-up from the time of surgery treatment, and the deadline was Jan. 31, 2018 or the time of death. Immunohistochemical SP method was used to detect the expressions of FOXA2 proteins in pancreatic carcinoma and adjacent tissues. Kaplan-Meier method and Log-Rank test was used for survival analysis. Cox proportional risk regression model was used to analysis the risk factors that affect patient prognosis. Human pancreatic carcinoma PANC1 cells were cultured and divided into siRNA-FOXA2 group, siRNA-NC group and control group. Real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR and Western blotting were used to detect the expressions of FOXA2 mRNA and protein in cells. CCK-8 assay was used to detect cell proliferation activity. Transwell assay was used to detect cell migration and cell invasion. Results  The positive expression rate of FOXA2 protein in pancreatic carcinoma tissues was 32.39%, which was lower than that in adjacent tissues (83.1%, P<0.001). The positive expression of FOXA2 protein in pancreatic carcinoma was related to TNM stage, lymph node metastasis and vascular tumor embolus (P<0.05). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that the average survival time in the positive group was higher than that in the negative group, the Log-Rank test showed that the difference was statistically significant (χ2=11.135, P=0.001). Cox proportional hazards regression model results showed that lymph node metastasis, vascular tumor embolus, and negative expression of FOXA2 protein were risk factors that affecting patient prognosis (P<0.05). The expression levels of FOXA2 mRNA and protein in the siRNA-FOXA2 group were lower than those in the siRNA-NC group and the control group (P<0.05). The OD values at 24 h, 48 h, 72 h and 96 h in the siRNA-FOXA2 group were higher than those in the siRNA-NC group and the control group (P<0.05). The number of migrating cells and the number of invasive cells in the siRNA-FOXA2 group were higher than those in the siRNA-NC group and the control group (P<0.05). Conclusion  The expression of FOXA2 protein in pancreatic carcinoma tissues is low, which is a risk factor influencing prognosis. Silencing of FOXA2 expression can promote proliferation, migration and invasion of pancreatic cancer cells.