Objective To detect the expression and distribution of dCTP pyrophosphatase 1 (DCTPP1) in gastric cancer tissues, analyze the correlation between DCTPP1 and clinicopathological characteristics of gastric cancer, and explore possible mechanisms of the involvement of DCTPP1 in the occurrence and development of gastric cancer. Methods The normal, adjacent, and tumor tissues of patients with gastric cancer were collected. The expression of DCTPP1 in these tissues was compared by Western blotting. The distribution of expression of DCTPP1 in gastric cancer cells was detected by immunohistochemical method and its correlation with clinical pathological characteristics of gastric cancer was explored. The expression and distribution of DCTPP1 of gastric cancer with different stages were analyzed. Results For three types of tissues of the same patient, the expression of DCTPP1 in gastric cancer tissue was significantly higher than that of normal and adjacent tissues. Results of the histological observation indicated that DCTPP1 expressed in cytoplasm and nucleus of gastric cancer tissue cells. The expression of DCTPP1 in nucleus increased with the TNM stage. The expression of DCTPP1 in nucleus of gastric cancer tissues of patients with lymph node metastasis was higher than that of patients without lymph node metastasis. Conclusion Compared with normal and adjacent tissues, the expression of DCTPP1 in gastric cancer tissues is higher. The high expression of DCTPP1 in nucleus of gastric cancer cells statistically correlates with the severity and metastasis of tumors to a certain extent. Since DCTPP1 participates in regulating the metabolism of abnormal nucleotides, its high expression in tumor cells and the accumulation in nucleus may play an important role in the occurrence and development of gastric cancer.