The effect of nerve growth factor (NGF) and its receptors on the onset and diagnosis of ovarian cancer was investigated. A total of 35 patients with ovarian tumor admitted in the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University from July 2014 to July 2015 were selected as study subjects and were divided into an observation group (including 21 patients with benign ovarian tumor, and 14 patients with malignant ovarian tumor), and a control group (21 healthy women). The quantity of expression of mRNA in NGF and its receptors (TrkA and p75NTR) was detected using fluorescent quantitative PCR. The protein expression of NGF, TrkA and p75NTR in different study samples was detected using ELISA and western blot analysis. The location of expression was determined using immunohistochemistry. The positive cell rate in different samples was analyzed. Compared with healthy women, the quantity of expression of mRNA in NGF, TrkA and p75NTR in patients with ovarian cancer was increased significantly. The results of ELISA showed that the quantity of protein expression of NGF, TrkA and p75NTR was 0.98±0.12, 1.23±0.14 and 0.76±0.07 µg/l in healthy women, and was 3.21±0.16, 5.28±0.25 and 2.97±0.13 µg/l, respectively, in women with ovarian tumor, and there were statistically significant differences (P< 0.05), and the level of expression in patients with malignant ovarian tumor was significantly higher than that in patients with benign ovarian cancer. Western blot analysis also showed that the quantity of expression of NGF, TrkA and p75NTR gene in women with ovarian cancer was significantly higher than that in healthy women. Immunohistochemical results showed that the number of positive cells of NGF, TrkA and p75NTR gene in the tissue of patients with ovarian cancer (89.5, 93.4 and 82.5%, respectively) was significantly higher than those in healthy ovarian tissue (9.4, 10.3 and 7.9%, respectively). In conclusion, NGF and its receptor can contribute to the occurrence of ovarian cancer, and the onset condition of ovarian cancer can be diagnosed through the detection of high or low expression of NGF and its receptors.