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OBJECTIVE To uncover the prognostic potentials of long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) UCA1 and miR-18a in hepatocellular cancer (HCC). PATIENTS AND METHODS Expression levels of UCA1 and microRNA-18a (miR-18a) in HCC tissues and adjacent normal ones harvested from 55 HCC patients were determined by quantitative Real Time-Polymerase Chain Reaction (qRT-PCR). Clinical data of HCC patients were recorded, including pathological grading, tumor staging, intrahepatic metastasis, serum level of α-fetoprotein (AFP), tumor size, tumor number, recurrence, etc. Based on the median levels of UCA1 and miR-18a, enrolled HCC patients were classified into high-level and low-level group. Potential correlation between expression levels of UCA1 and miR-18a with survival of HCC patients was analyzed. The 5-year follow-up data of HCC patients were collected for analyzing factors that may influence prognosis in HCC patients by the Cox regression model. RESULTS UCA1 was upregulated and miR-18a was downregulated in HCC tissues. HCC patients with stage III-IV, tumor size ≥5 cm or multiple tumors expressed high level of UCA1. Besides, HCC patients with stage I-II, non-intrahepatic metastasis or primarily diagnosed expressed a relatively low level of miR-18a. High-level UCA1 and low-level miR-18a predicted worse prognosis in HCC patients. Cox regression analysis revealed that tumor node metastasis (TNM) staging, intrahepatic metastases, postoperative recurrences, and UCA1 were risk factors for HCC, while miR-18a was the protective factor. CONCLUSIONS LncRNA UCA1 is upregulated and miR-18a is downregulated in HCC tissues. High-level UCA1 and low-level miR-18a are closely linked to poor prognosis in HCC.