Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the major causes of cancer‑related mortality, and the prognosis of HCC patients is unsatisfactory. It is known that the occurrence and development of HCC involves numerous genes, as well as various steps and stages in the pathological process. High mobility group AT‑hook 1 (HMGA1) and integrin‑linked kinase (ILK) may be overexpressed in HCC and may serve important roles in the development of cancer; however, the relationship between HMGA1 and ILK in HCC has not been examined. The present study demonstrated that inhibition of HMGA1 expression significantly decreased the levels of expression of ILK and the downstream elements phosphorylated (p)‑Akt, p‑glycogen synthase kinase 3β (GSK3β), matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)2, MMP9, CyclinD1 and c‑Myc. Transfection with an ILK expression vector was able to recover the decreased expression of these downstream genes, and affected cell proliferation and apoptosis. In addition, results from Transwell and wound‑healing experiments indicated that HMGA1 participates cell invasion and migration through the ILK/Akt/GSK3β pathway. The present study aimed to improve our understanding about the regulatory pathway involved in HCC and provides the basis for exploring HMGA1 inhibition as a therapy for patients with HCC and a new treatment strategy to prevent the development of HCC.