Multiple studies have shown that CC motif chemokine ligand 19 (CCL19) promotes cell proliferation in several human cancers. In this study, we investigated the clinical significance of CCL19 and its specific receptor CCR7 and its function in our large collection of prostate samples. Between August 2000 and December 2013, 108 patients with histologically confirmed prostate cancer (PCa) and 80 with benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH) were recruited into the study. Quantitative RT-PCR immunohistochemistry analyses were used to quantify CCL19 and CCR7 expression in PCa cell lines and clinical samples. The functional role of CCL19 in PCa cell lines was evaluated by small interfering RNA-mediated depletion of the protein followed by analyses of cell proliferation and invasion. The positive rate of CCL19 staining was 87.04 % (94/108) in 108 cases of prostatic carcinoma and 16.25 % (13/80) in 80 cases of BPH, and high expression of CCR7 was observed in 83.33 % (90/108) of the PCa tissues versus (17.50 %; 14/80) of the BPH tissues, the difference of CCL19 and CCR7 expression between two groups was statistically significant, respectively. The results were confirmed by quantitative real-time PCR. CCL19 and CCR7 were significantly elevated in all five PCa cell lines when compared to the RWPE-1 cells. Silencing of CCL19 inhibited the proliferation of DU-145 cells which have a relatively high level of CCL19 in a time- and concentration-dependent manner, and the invasion and migration of DU-145 cells were distinctly suppressed. Our data suggest that the pathogenesis of human PCa maybe mediated by the CCL19/CCR7 axis, and CCL19 inhibition treatment may provide a promising strategy for the anti-tumor therapy of PCa.