Propofol is one of the most extensively used intravenous anesthetic agents and it can influence the biological behavior of gastric cancer. However, the underlying mechanism is poorly understood. In the present study, we found that propofol significantly inhibited cell proliferation, invasion and migration, and also promoted apoptosis in gastric carcinoma cell lines SGC-7901 and MGC-803, as detected using MTT, colony formation and flow cytometry assays, respectively. Moreover, propofol (10 and 20 µM) markedly upregulated the expression of inhibitor of growth 3 (ING3), which was lower in SGC-7901 and MGC-803 cells compared with that noted in normal human gastric epithelial cell lines GES-1 and HFE145. Furthermore, we transfected SGC-7901 and MGC-803 cells with ING3 overexpression vectors or ING3 small interference RNA (siING3), respectively, to assess the role of ING3 in propofol-induced antitumor activity. The siING3 transfection reversed the effects of propofol on the biological behavior of gastric cancer cells, while transfection of ING3 promoted the effects of propofol. In conclusion, our results indicate that propofol exerts an inhibitory effect on the growth and survival of gastric cancer cells by interfering with ING3 degradation.