Hepatoma-derived growth factor (HDGF) is a heparin-binding growth factor which has previously been shown to be expressed in a variety of cancers. HDGF over-expression has also previously been correlated with a poor prognosis in several cancers. The significance of HDGF in prostate cancer, however, has not been investigated. Here, we show that HDGF is over-expressed in both androgen-sensitive LNCaP cells and androgen-insensitive DU145, 22RV1 and PC-3 cells. Forced over-expression enhanced cell viability of RWPE-1 cells, while HDGF knockdown reduced cell proliferation in human prostate cancer cells. We also show that HDGF may serve as a survival related protein as ectopic over-expression of HDGF in RWPE cells up-regulated the expression of anti-apoptosis proteins cyclin E and BCL-2, while simultaneously down-regulating pro-apoptotic protein BAX. Western blot analysis also showed that HDGF over-expression modulated the activity of phospho AKT as well as NF-kB, and these results correlated with in vitro migration and invasion assays. We next assessed the therapeutic potential of HDGF inhibition with a HDGF monoclonal antibody and vitamin k2, showing reduced cell proliferation as well as inhibition of NF-kB expression in HDGF over-expressed RWPE cells treated with a HDGF monoclonal antibody and vitamin K2. Collectively, our results suggest that HDGF is a relevant protein in prostate oncogenesis and may serve as a potential therapeutic target in prostate cancer.