To observe the effects of small interfering RNA (siRNA)-mediated silencing of octamer binding factor 4 (OCT4) gene on the proliferation and apoptosis of pancreatic carcinoma cell line PANC1 in vitro.Chemically synthesized siRNA against human OCT4 was transfected into PANC1 cells via Lipofectamine(TM)2000. The expression of OCT4 mRNA in the cells was detected using RT-PCR, and the protein expressions of OCT4 and PARP were assayed using Western blotting. The changes in the cell proliferation were evaluated using CCK8 method. Flow cytometry was used to detect the apoptosis of the transfected cells.siRNA transfection significantly suppressed the expression of OCT4 gene, which activated the expression of PARP in PANC1 cells (P<0.05). CCK8 method demonstrated a significant inhibition of cell proliferation by OCT4 siRNA transfection, which also resulted in significantly increased apoptotic rate of the cells (P<0.05).siRNA-mediated OCT4 gene silencing can inhibit the proliferation and induce apoptosis of pancreatic carcinoma PANC1 cells, and this study provides a basis for further functional study of OCT4 gene.