Objective: To investigate the e ect and mechanism of transcription factor 21 (TCF21) on the cellular biological characteristics in laryngeal carcinoma cell line Hep-2. Methods: Lentiviral transfection was used to up-regulated TCF21 expression in Hep-2 cells, and then cell proliferation and apoptosis were detected with Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay and ow cytometry assay, respectively. e expression of cell cycle- and apoptosis-related molecules at protein level was measured by Western blot. Results: Over-expression of TCF21 suppressed cell proliferation and cell cycle, while promoted cell apoptosis in Hep-2 cell (P<0.05). Western blot showed that the expression of cyclinD1, CDK4, CDK6, p-Rb and Bcl-2 at protein level decreased signi cantly a er up-regulation of TCF21, with an increased expression of P21, Bax and cleaved-caspase-3 (P<0.05). Conclusion: In Hep-2 cells, over-expression of TCF21 could suppress cell proliferation and cell cycle, while promote cell apoptosis via regulating the expression of cell cycle- and apoptosis-related molecules, suggesting that TCF21 may be a potential new target for diagnosis and targeted therapy of laryngeal carcinoma.