The activation of vascular endothelial cell growth factor receptors (VEGFRs) plays an essential role in cancer progression. In this study, we investigated the expression of phosphorylated VEGFR-2 (or phospho-KDR/Flk-1), the activated form of VEGFR-2, in human colorectal adenomas and colorectal adenocarcinomas. Phospho-KDR/Flk-1 showed weak expression in the normal colorectal tissue. Phospho-KDR/Flk-1 was mainly stained in the cytoplasm of colorectal adenomas, and was stained in both the cytoplasm and nuclei colorectal adenocarcinomas. There was no indication of increased phospho-KDR/Flk-1 expression in the colorectal adenocarcinomas, as compared to that of colorectal adenomas. Furthermore, there was an inverse relationship of phospho-KDR/Flk-1 expression with cancer stage (p < 0.0001), lymph node metastasis (p = 0.011), and distant metastasis (p = 0.021) of the colorectal adenocarcinomas. Our results indicate that early stage colorectal adenocarcinomas with highly activated (phosphorylated) VEGFR-2 expression may indicate the significance of neoangiogenesis of the tumors.