Abstract The process of tumor metastasis is highly complex and involves dissemination of tumor cells from the primary tumor through the vascular system. However, most of the cancer cells, particularly epithelial cancer cells, have very low survival rates in circulation and undergo rapid anoikis. Tumor cells that acquire malignant potential have developed mechanisms to resist anoikis and thereby survive while travelling though the lymphatic or circulatory systems. Recently, we have shown that IL-6 promotes epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and tumor metastasis. A number of studies have shown that FAK signaling pathways play an important role in inducing anoikis resistance in tumor cells. In this study, we examined if IL-6 promoted tumor metastasis by enhancing stemness and anoikis resistance in cancer cells via the activation of FAK signaling. Our results demonstrate that IL-6 significantly enhanced stemness phenotype in cancer cells as measured by tumorsphere formation and ALDH positive cells by upregulating nanog protein levels. Nanog knockdown significantly reversed IL-6-mediated cancer stem cell (CSC) phenotype. IL-6 treatment of cancer cells induced FAK phosphorylation in a time dependent manner. Interestingly, FAK knockdown did not significantly decrease nanog mRNA levels but markedly decreased nanog protein levels. FAK depletion completely blocked IL-6-mediated nanog phosphorylation and enhanced nanog protein ubiquitination and degradation. These results suggest that FAK may be modulating nanog protein levels by stabilization nanog protein through phosphorylation. Furthermore, FAK knockdown significantly decreased IL-6-mediated tumorsphere formation, anoikis resistance and tumor metastasis. Taken together, our results show that IL-6 promotes tumor metastasis by enhancing stem cell phenotype and anoikis resistance in head and neck cancer cells via FAK activation and nanog protein stabilization. Citation Format: Arti Yadav, Bhavna Kumar, Pawan Kumar. IL-6 promotes tumor metastasis by promoting anoikis resistance and stemness phenotype in cancer cells via the activation of FAK and nanog stabilization [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2018; 2018 Apr 14-18; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 3447.