To explore whether the SP-B mRNA expression is associated with the pathogenesis of neonatal RDS, in situ hybridization was conducted to detect the SP-B mRNA expression in the lung of neonates, who were treated in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) between July, 2006 and October, 2010 and succumbed to RDS. This evidence concerns the gene SFTPB and newborn respiratory distress syndrome.