Recently, miR‑485‑5p was identified as a tumor‑suppressing microRNA in some human cancers. However, the expression and biological role of miR‑485‑5p in colorectal cancer (CRC) remain unclear. Herein, we found that the expression of miR‑485‑5p in CRC tissues and cell lines was much lower than that in the control, respectively. Moreover, the overexpression of miR‑485‑5p could inhibit the proliferation and invasion of CRC cell lines in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, we determined that miR‑485‑5p could decrease the expression of CD147 by directly targeting CD147 3'UTR. In addition, the expression of CD147 was inversely correlated with the expression of miR‑485‑5p in CRC tissues. Collectively, our results revealed that miR‑485‑5p played a pivotal tumor‑suppressing role in CRC through downregulation of cancer‑associated gene CD147, and may provide a better understanding of the pathogenesis in CRC and a new bio‑target for CRC therapy.