Background Constitutive activation of STAT3 promotes oncogenesis and growth of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). We investigated the mechanism of action of suppressor of cytokine signaling 1 (SOCS1), an endogenous inhibitor of JAK, as gene therapy for OSCC. Methods Antitumor effect of SOCS1 was compared to JAK inhibitor I by cell proliferation assay, cell cycle analysis, and apoptosis analysis in vitro. In addition, antitumor effect was evaluated using xenograft mouse models in vivo. Results JAK inhibitor I inhibited the proliferation of KOSC2 cl3‐43 or T3M‐1 clone2 OSCC cell lines in vitro. While JAK inhibitor I arrested both cell lines at the G2/M phase, induction of apoptosis was observed in T3M‐1 clone2 cells, but not KOSC2‐cl3‐43 cells. An adenoviral vector expressing SOCS1 (AdSOCS1) significantly decreased the proliferation of both OSCC cell lines and induced G2/M phase cell cycle arrest and apoptosis, suggesting that induction of apoptosis of KOSC2 cl3‐43 cells by AdSOCS1 is regulated by the JAK/STAT independent pathway. Overexpression of SOCS1 inhibited activation of the JAK/STAT and p44/42 MAPK pathways, while JAK inhibitor I inhibited activation of the JAK/STAT pathway only. Consistently, expression of Mcl‐1 was decreased by overexpression of SOCS1, but not JAK inhibitor I. Additionally, KOSC2 cl3‐43 or T3M‐1 clone2 OSCC cells were subcutaneously implanted in the flanks of two xenograft mouse models. As compared to a control adenovirus vector (AdLacZ), intratumor injection of AdSOCS1 significantly decreased the tumor volume and induced apoptosis in vivo. Conclusion SOCS1 gene therapy may be a beneficial approach for the treatment of OSCC.