Glioma is one of the most common types of tumor of the central nervous system with high mobility and mortality. The prognosis of patients with high‑grade glioma is poor. Therefore, it is urgent to develop the therapeutic strategies for the treatment of glioma. Long non‑coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been reported as potential inducers or suppressors of numerous types of tumors including glioma. Previous studies have revealed that lncRNA maternally expressed gene 3 (MEG3) is involved in the initiation and progression of cancer; however, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. In the present study, MEG3 was downregulated in glioma tissue. In addition, downregulation of MEG3 was observed in human glioma cell lines compared with normal astrocyte cells. Furthermore, overexpressed MEG3 inhibited the proliferation, migration and invasion of glioma cells. Additionally, microRNA‑96‑5p (miR‑96‑5p) was a promising target of MEG3, and the promoting effects of miR‑96‑5p on cell growth and metastasis could be reversed by upregulated MEG3. Metastasis suppressor 1 (MTSS1) was predicted as the putative target of miR‑96‑5p, and its expression was restored by MEG3. In summary, the present data provided novel insight into the roles of MEG3 in glioma, and MEG3/miR‑96‑5p/MTSS1 signaling could be a promising therapeutic target for the treatment of patients with glioma.