Objective: E-cadherin is an adhesion molecule that promotes the integrity and stability of the urothelium. A decrease in its expression is associated with more aggressive tumour phenotypes, with the ability to invade and metastasize. Our aim was to describe the expression of E-cadherin in normal urothelium and in urothelium with pre-neoplastic and neoplastic lesions of ICR male mice. Method: Urothelial lesions were chemically induced by Nbutyl-N-(4-hydroxybutyl) nitrosamine in ICR mice, and evaluated by immunohistochemistry in order to determine the staining pattern of E-cadherin. Results: In normal urothelium, 87.5 % of E-cadherin expression was at the cellular membrane level. In simple hyperplasia, the same pattern was observed in 66.67 % of lesions. Nodular hyperplasia exhibited a mixed pattern (50 % membrane and 50 % cytoplasmic pattern). In 86.67 % of dysplasia, a cytoplasmic pattern was seen. On invasive carcinoma the majority of invasive urothelial cells exhibited a pattern of membrane and cytoplasmic staining. On squamous metaplasia it was observed a membrane pattern on basal and intermediate layers, and a loss of immunoreactivity in the most superficial ones.