Ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme E2C (UBE2C) is a key regulator of cell cycle progression and is involved in the tumorigenesis of a variety of cancers. Previous studies have demonstrated that UBE2C is an important factor in the malignant progression of astrocytic tumors. However, the association between UBE2C expression and clinical prognosis of glioma patients has not been defined. In the present study, the expression of UBE2C in gliomas and non-cancerous brain tissues were detected by microarray and immunohistochemical analysis. The association between UBE2C expression and clinicopathological characteristics of the glioma patients was evaluated. The Kaplan-Meier method and multivariate Cox's proportional hazards model were used to analyze the survival time of the patients. The results demonstrated that the expression levels of UBE2C in anaplastic gliomas and glioblastoma (GBM) patients were significantly higher compared to low-grade gliomas, in microarray and immunohistochemistry analysis. A higher UBE2C expression was associated with a significantly decreased overall survival time in patients possessing anaplastic gliomas (P<0.01) and GBMs (P<0.05). Multivariate analysis of 80 GBM patients revealed that UBE2C expression was an independent prognostic factor. To the best of our knowledge, the present data suggest for the first time that UBE2C overexpression is strongly associated with an aggressive progression and poor outcome of malignant glioma. Therefore, UBE2C overexpression may be used as a predictor of poor prognosis in patients with malignant glioma.