〔Abstract〕 Objective To explore the effect of miR-3188 on the proliferation, apoptosis, invasion and migration of gastric cancer cells and the underlying molecular mechanism. Methods The expression level of miR-3188 was examined in normal human gastric mucosal cells(GES-1) and human gastric cancer cell lines(HGC-27,MGC-803,BGC-823,MKN-45) by qRT-PCR. It was determined by bioinformatic analysis and dual luciferase reporter assay whether NRAGE was the target gene of miR-3188.miR-3188 mimic, miR-3188 inhibitor and negative control miR-NC were transfected into gastric cancer cell line HGC-27 respectively, and the expression of NRAGE on protein and mRNA levels was detected by Western blot and qRT-PCR. miR-3188 mimic, NRAGE overexpression plasmid(pc-NRAGE) and its negative control(miR-NC,pc-control) were separately or co-transfected into gastric cancer cell line HGC-27. CCK-8, flow cytometry and Transwell experiment were used to detect cell proliferation, apoptosis, invasion and migration in each group. The expressions of epithelial-mesenchymal transition(EMT), proliferation, apoptosis, invasion and migration related proteins [CyclinD 1,matrix metalloproteinase 9(MMP 9),Bcl-2,N-cadherin, Vimentin, E-cadherin] in each group were detected by Western blot. Results The expression of miR-3188 in human gastric cancer cell lines was lower than that of human normal gastric mucosal cells. Bioinformatics analysis and dual luciferase reporter assay confirmed that miR-3188 could target and bind to NRAGE 3′UTR.Western blot and qRT-PCR confirmed that miR-3188 negatively regulated the expression of NRAGE on the protein level in HGC-27 cells, but not on the mRNA level. Compared with the miR-NC group, Transfected miR-3188 mimic reduced the proliferation, invasion and migration ability of HGC-27 cells, and increased the apoptosis rate, and the co-transfection of pc-NRAGE could reverse the above effects. Compared with the miR-NC group, when miR-3188 was overexpressed in HGC-27 cell, the expression of cyclinD 1, MMP 9, Bcl-2, N-cadherin, and Vimentin was down regulated, while E-cadherin expression was up-regulated, and the above effects could be reversed by co-transfection with pc-NRAGE. Conclusion The miR-3188/NRAGE axis may play important roles in the progression of gastric cancer, and miR-3188 may be a potential therapeutic target for gastric cancer.