Objective To determine the relationship between MGMT and caspase-3 expression levels and the survival prognosis of glioma patients.Methods MGMT and caspase-3 expression in 75 cases of glioma tissues (of different pathological grades) and 10 cases of normal brain tissues were measured by immunohistochemistry, and their correlation with the clinicopathological characteristics and survival prognosis of patients was analyzed.Results MGMT and caspase-3 expression was significantly higher in glioma tissues than in normal brain tissues (P<0.05). The levels of MGMT and caspase-3 expression were not correlated with the patients' age, sex, preoperative Karnofsky Performance Scale score, and pathological grade of glioma. The Kaplan-Meier survival curve indicated that MGMT expression in gliomas was negatively correlated with survival prognosis (P<0.05), while caspase-3 expression was not correlated with prognosis (P>0.05). MGMT expression was negatively correlated with caspase-3 expression (r=-0.230, P=0.047).Conclusions MGMT expression is associated with the prognosis of glioma and can be used as a prognostic biomarker for glioma. On the other hand, caspase-3 expression is not associated with the prognosis of glioma patients, but is negatively correlated with MGMT.