The cell lines provided excellent tools to understand the mechanism of biological phenomenon at the cellular and molecular levels. The continuous development of new cell culture technology is both of interest for use in biochemical, immunology, and virological studies. The transformation of cells of the primary culture is a key procedure for insect cell line establishment but little is known about the molecular basis of these changes. Here, we found that the cell cycle progression of the cells of the primary culture was delayed or arrested in G2/M by fluorescence-activated cell sorting analysis. In this study, two subtractive cDNA libraries were constructed to screen for immortal-related genes of Spodoptera exigua (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). Gene ontology and pathway analysis indicated that members of the oxidative phosphorylation, PI3K-Akt signaling pathway, and the ubiquitin proteasome pathway are involved in processes leading toward cell immortalization merit further investigation. Our findings suggest that tumor-related genes or target genes of these pathways may contribute to the transformation of primary cell through regulation of G2/M cell cycle progression.