Wip1 is deregulated in numerous human malignancies. However, its roles in non‑small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remain unclear. In the current study, the expression of Wip1 was investigated in NSCLC and its clinical significance was detected. Immunohistochemical staining was used to measure the expression of (wild‑type p53 induced phosphatase 1) Wip1, p38 mitogen‑activated protein kinase (MAPK), p53, p16 protein in a group of 60 NSCLC and 20 normal lung tissues. In addition, western blotting was performed to detect the Wip1 protein in fresh tissues. The correlations between clinical characteristics and Wip1 expression were analyzed using SPSS, version 16.0 software. The expression of Wip1 was positive in 63.3% (38/60) of NSCLC tissues, and in none of the normal lung tissues (0/20; P<0.01). In addition, Wip1 overexpression was significantly associated with tumor length and differentiation (P=0.008 and 0.03, respectively). The expression of Wip1 was negatively correlated with that of p38MAPK, p53 and p16 (r=‑0.284, ‑0.352 and ‑0.348, respectively). The results of the current study demonstrated that Wip1 was frequently overexpressed in NSCLC, which may serve an essential role in the p38MAPK/p53/p16 signaling pathway.