Expression of heparanase is associated with invasion, metastasis and angiogenesis of a variety of human cancers. However, the roles of heparanase in cervical cancer are not clear. The aim of this study is to determine whether up-regulation of heparanase expression can promote growth of cervical cancer in vitro and in vivo. Heparanase protein expression was analyzed in cervical cancer patients using immunohistochemistry. In addition, expression of heparanase was also examined in cervical cancer cell lines. A series of in vivo and in vitro assays was performed to elucidate the role of heparanase in tumor growth of cervical cancer. Positive rate of heparanase was 63.3 % (38/60) in cervical cancer patients by immunohistochemistry, and it was significantly correlated with tumor size and clinical stage (P < 0.05). Overexpression of heparanase inhibited apoptosis of cervical cancer cells. Moreover, ectopic overexpression of heparanase in cervical cancer cells promoted proliferation of cervical cancer cells in vitro and tumor growth in vivo. These results suggest that heparanase participates in tumor growth of cervical cancer by influencing the proliferation and apoptosis of cervical cancer cells, and heparanase could be used as an effective therapeutic target for cervical cancer.