Objective To investigate the inhibitory effects of RNA interference (RNAi) expression vector on the expression of survivin in pancreatic cancer cell PANC-1. Methods The protein and mRNA expressions of survivin were examined with immunofluorescence and RT-PCR. The survivin gene was cloned into the T-vector and sequenced. The RNAi expression vectors targeting survivin, named si-svv-1 and si-svv-2 respectively according to whether they harbored a mutation or no mutation, were constructed and transfected into PANC-1 cells with liposome. The expression of survivin mRNA was detected with RT-PCR. Apoptosis of PANC-1 cells was analyzed with DNA ladder and FACS. Results There was a high degree expression of survivin in PANC-1 cells. The expression of survivin was not inhibited by RNAi expression vectors si-svv-1, but inhibited about (72.43±8.04)% by si-svv-2 and the apoptosis rate of PANC-1 cells increased to （12.36±1.44）% after 72 h. Conclusion The RNAi expression vector can effectively inhibit the expression of survivin in pancreatic cancer cell PANC-1 cells and induce the apoptosis in PANC-1 cells.