Objective To investigate the effect of miR-497-5p targeting the FOXP4 gene on the proliferation， migration， and invasion of astrocytoma cells.Methods Quantitative real-time PCR and Western blotting were used to measure the expression of miR-497-5p and FOXP4 in astrocytoma cell lines （U87， U251， and BT325） and normal astrocyte cell line （HA1800）. MTT assay and Transwell assay were used to analyze the effect of miR-497-5p overexpression or FOXP4 silencing on the proliferation， migration， and invasion of U251 cells. Dual luciferase reporter gene assay and Western blotting were used to investigate the targeted regulatory relationship between miR-497-5p and FOXP4.Results The expression level of miR-497-5p in the three astrocytoma cell lines was significantly lower than that in HA1800 cells （P <0.05）， while the expression level of FOXP4 in the three astrocytoma cell lines was significantly higher than that in HA1800 cells （P <0.05）. There were significant reductions in the proliferation， migration， and invasion abilities of U251 cells after miR-497-5p overexpression （all P <0.05）， and there were also significant reductions after FOXP4 silencing （all P <0.05）. MiR-497-5p targeted and negatively regulated the expression of FOXP4. FOXP4 overexpression partially reversed the inhibitory effect of miR-497-5p on the proliferation， migration， and invasion of U251 cells.Conclusions MiR-497-5p inhibits the proliferation， migration， and invasion of astrocytoma cells by downregulating the expression of FOXP4.