The overexpression of cyclin kinase subunit 2 (CKS2) is tightly correlated with tumor aggressiveness and prognosis in various malignancies, including gastric, breast, liver and prostate cancer. However, whether CKS2 is upregulated in colorectal cancer (CRC) remains unknown. The aim of the present study was to analyze CKS2 expression levels in CRC, and to determine the clinical diagnostic and prognostic values of CKS2 overexpression in CRC patients. CKS2 expression was analyzed at the mRNA and protein levels by quantitative (q)PCR and western blot analysis. CKS2 expression was significantly upregulated in CRC compared with the adjacent non-cancer and normal colorectal tissues. The overexpression of CKS2 was correlated with poor differentiation and the pathological stage. In addition, CKS2 overexpression was correlated with aggressive tumor progression in CRC, which indicated that CKS2 may serve as a good CRC biomarker.