Objective To investigate the effect of TNF-related weak inducer of apoptosis/fibroblast growth Factor-inducible 14 (TWEAK/Fn14) on the cell proliferation by transfecting Fn14 shRNA to PANC-1 cells. Methods The shRNA gene targeting Fn14 gene was constructed and transfected into pancreatic cancer cell line PANC-1 to specifically silence the expression of Fn14 gene. The effect of shRNA interference sequence on the expression of Fn14 was detected by flow cytometry and immunofluorescence. CCK-8 was used to detect the cell proliferation of PANC-1 after blocking TWEAK-induced signal pathway. Western blotting method was used to detect the expressions of downstream factors such as nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB), TWEAK and caspase-3 to explore the pathway mechanism of TWEAK/Fn14. Results The absorbance value (A value) in the Fn14 shRNA group was significantly lower than the control groups in 24 hours after transfected (P<0.000 1). After the specific shRNA sequences transfected PANC-1 cells, NF-κB, TWEAK and caspase-3 protein expressions were also significantly lower than the control group (P<0.05), and the apoptosis of PANC-1 cells increased after inhibition of TWEAK/Fn14 signaling pathway. Conclusions TWEAK/Fn14 involved in the progression of pancreatic cancer. The Fn14 expression could influence the process of cell apoptosis.