Astrocytoma is the most common brain tumor. The aberrant expression of programmed cell death ligands 1 (PD-L) on tumor cells results in tumor immune evasion with tumor aggressiveness in many cancers. Materials and methods Immunohistochemical analysis was used for examining the morphology and the expression of PD-L1 and P53 in 42 cases of astrocytomas. Univariate analysis was used to correlate the protein expression with the variable clinicopathological parameters. Log-rank test was used to compare the survival among the different groups. Results PD-L1 positive expression was found in 42.9% (18/42) of patients with astrocytoma. PD-L1 positive expression showed statistically significant association with grade of astrocytoma (P=0.003), poor survival (P=0.005), and recurrence (P=0.001). P53 high expression was found in 47.6% (20/42) of patients with astrocytoma. P53 high expression showed statistically significant association with grade of astrocytoma (P=0.014), survival (P=0.032), and recurrence (P=0.001). High significant association was detected between PD-L1 positivity and P53 high expression (P=0.005). Conclusion The high expression of PD-L1 and P53 was associated with higher grade and poor survival in astrocytoma. A significant association between PD-L1 and P53 might emphasize the interaction between P53 and PD-L1 during astrocytoma progression. Egypt J Pathol 38:319–325 © 2018 Egyptian Journal of Pathology