Background: Microarray analysis is a popular tool to investigate the function of genes that are responsible for the phenotype of the disease. Keloid is a intricate lesion which is probably modulated by interplay of many genes. We ventured to study the differences of gene expressions between keloids and normal skins with the aid of cDNA microarray in order to explore the molecular mechanism underlying keloid formation. Methods: The PCR products of 8400 human genes were spotted on a chip in array. The DNAs were then fixed on the glass plate by a series of treatments. Total RNAs was isolated from freshly excised human keloids and normal skin, and then was purified to mRNA by Oligotex. Both the mRNA from keloids and normal skin was reversely transcribed to cDNAs with the incorporations of fluorescent dUTP, for preparing the hybridization probes. The mixed probes were then hybridized to the cDNA microarray. After highly stringent washing, the cDNA microarray was scanned for the fluorescent signals to display the differences between two kinds of tissues. Results: Among 8400 human genes, there were 402 genes (4.79%) with different expression levels between the keloids and normal skins in all cases, 250were up-regulated (2.98%) and 152 down-regulated (1.81%). Analyses of collagen, fibronectin, proteoglycan,growth factors and apoptosis related molecule gene expression confirmed that our molecular data obtained by cDNA microarray were consistent with published biochemical and clinical observations of keloids. Conclusions: DNA microarray technology is an effective technique in screening for differences in gene expression between keloid and normal skin. Many genes are involved in the formation of keloids. Further analysis of the obtained genes will help understand the molecular mechanism of keloid formation.