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The author undertook the study of cellular proliferation, particularly in human tumours, in order to test the hypothesis that the quantification of this fundamental biological process can provide objective information about the clinical course and prognosis of cancer. Recently, immunohystochemical staining with antibodies against proliferation-associated anti­gen has been used for determining the growth fraction. Anti-PCNA and Ki-67 are the most fre­quently employed markers. PCNA is DNA poly­merise d auxiliary protein. During S phase of the cell cycle nuclei of the cells are PCNA positive. Antibody Ki-67 recognizes nuclear antigens, which are present solely in proliferating cells and are absent in resting cells during G₀ phase. The paper gives an overview of the principal biological characteristics of immunohistochemical markers anti-PCNA and Ki-67, and presents their applications in pathology and the author’s experience with these markers.