In vivo experiments confirmed that ER-α36 promoted gastric tumor growth and EGFR/Erk signaling, which was attenuated by SGK1 knockdown.<h4>Conclusions</h4>ER-α36 contributes to the malignant progression of gastric adenocarcinoma by activating the Erk1/2 pathway through SGK1. Here, SGK1 is linked to gastric adenocarcinoma.