Recent studies have shown that long non‑coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have crucial regulating roles in carcinogenesis. Forkhead box C1 (FOXC1) is an important cancer‑associated gene in basal‑like breast cancer (BLBC). In the present study, a novel lncRNA, FOXC1 promoter upstream transcript (FOXCUT) was investigated in BLBC patients using polymerase chain reaction analysis. The results showed that the expression of FOXCUT and FOXC1 were positively correlated. When the expression of FOXCUT was downregulated by small interfering RNA, the expression of FOXC1 was similarly reduced. Furthermore, in MDA‑MB‑231 and MDA‑MB‑468 breast cancer cells, knockdown of FOXCUT markedly inhibited cell proliferation and migration in vitro. In conclusion, FOXCUT lncRNA may be functionally involved in the tumor progression of BLBCs through the regulation of its paired mRNA, FOXC1, demonstrating that FOXCUT may serve as a novel biomarker and therapeutic target in BLBCs.