The expression of microRNA (miR)-610 has previously been reported to be downregulated in gastric cancer and hepatocellular carcinoma. However, miR-610 has yet to be investigated in human glioma. In the present study, miR-610 expression was analyzed by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Post‑transfection with miR‑610 mimics and inhibitors, MTT assay, cell migration and invasion assays, western blot analysis and a luciferase assay were performed in glioma cell lines. The results demonstrated that miR‑610 was downregulated in glioma tissues compared with their normal adjacent tissues and normal brain tissues (P<0.05). The reduced expression levels of miR‑610 were associated with World Health Organization grade and the Karnofsky performance status of patients with glioma. Furthermore, the present study revealed that miR‑610 inhibited cell growth, migration and invasion in glioma cells. To the best of our knowledge, the present study is the first to provide evidence suggesting that miR‑610 directly targets MDM2 proto-oncogene E3 ubiquitin protein ligase to function as a tumor suppressor in glioma. These results indicate that miR‑610 may be investigated as a target for therapeutic drugs designed to treat glioma.