Lymph node metastasis (LNM) is one of the major causes of cancer‑associated morbidity and mortality in patients with lung cancer following radical pulmonary carcinoma resection. The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between the expression of collagen and calcium‑binding epidermal growth factor domain‑containing protein 1 (CCBE1) and lymphatic vessel endothelial hyaluronan receptor 1 (LYVE1) in tumor tissue with the clinical prognosis of lung cancer. The present study included 40 patients with lung cancer that underwent pulmonary carcinoma resection, including 10 patients with LNM, and 10 control patients who underwent pulmonary bullae resection. CCBE1 and LYVE1 expression was assessed in samples from normal and tumor tissue using polymerase chain reaction, western blot analysis and immunohistochemistry. CCBE1 expression appeared to be decreased in lung tumor tissue and further downregulated in samples from patients with LNM, and was revealed to be correlated with poor clinical outcome. Conversely, LYVE1 expression appeared to be upregulated in lung cancer tissue. In conclusion, the present results suggested that CCBE1 and LYVE1 may have potential as biomarkers for the identification of lung cancer patients at a high risk of LNM.