Lung metastasis is one of the important characteristics of salivary adenoid cystic carcinoma (SACC). Although activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2) pathway may be associated with cancer progression in some malignant tumors, its roles in lung metastasis of SACC remains unclear. We examined the expression of activated ERK1/2 in SACC-LM with high lung-metastatic rate and SACC-83 with low lung-metastatic rate, as well as in the tissues from lung-metastatic and non-metastatic groups of SACC patients. Western blot analysis indicated that SACC-LM exhibited higher expression of activated ERK1/2 than SACC-83. Similarly, immunohistochemistry showed that expression of activated ERK1/2 was detected in 73% (8/11) of the primary tissues from SACC patients with lung metastasis, while only 25% (3/12) of the primary tissues from SACC patients without lung metastasis (P<0.05). Furthermore, we examined the effects of U0126, a specific inhibitor of mitogen activated protein kinase kinase (MEK or MAPKK), on migration and invasion in SACC-LM cells, showing U0126 not only inactivated ERK1/2, but also inhibited migration and invasion of SACC-LM. The present findings suggested that the elevated expression of activated ERK1/2 may play a role in lung metastasis of salivary adenoid cystic carcinoma.