Sdi1, also known as Cip1/Waf1, is a potent inhibitor of G1 cyclin-dependent kinases, which is induced by wild type p53 but not by mutant p53. Expression of mRNAs for sdil, cdk2 and G1 cyclins was examined in gastric carcinomas. All the cell lines expressing very low or undetectable level of sdil mRNA contains p53 gene abnormalities, while the cell lines expressing high level of sdil shares wild type p53 gene. An exception was a cell line MKN-28 with mutated p53 gene which expressed mRNAs for sdi1, cdk2 and G1 cyclins at high levels, p21 point mutation was detected in one (MKN-28) of the eight cell lines. These result suggest that low level of sdil and subsequent overexpression of cdk2 and G1 cyclins might be involved in deregulated growth of gastric carcinomas. It is likely that gene alteration of sdil and subsequent loss of function may have implication for cdk2 and G1 cyclins expression.