〔Abstract〕 Objective To investigate the expression of long non-coding RNA(LncRNA) PICSAR in ovarian cancer, and explore the effects of LncRNA PICSAR on the proliferation, migration, invasion and apoptosis of ovarian cancer cells as well as its possible mechanism of action. Methods The expression levels of LncRNA PICSAR in ovarian cancer tissue and cell line A2780, OVCAR-3, HO-8910 and normal ovarian tissue and cell line IOSE386 were detected by fluorescence quantitative PCR. Ovarian cancer cell lines with the highest expression of LncRNA PICSAR were divided into control group and experimental group, and transfected with negative control small interfering RNA(siRNA-NC) or PICSAR knockout small interfering RNA(siRNA-PICSAR) by liposome transfection technique, respectively. The effects of LncRNA PICSAR knockdown on the invasion, migration, proliferation and apoptosis of ovarian cancer cells were analyzed by cell counting assay(CCK-8), clonogenic assay, scratch assay, transwell assay and flow cytometry and so on. The expression levels of autophagy related proteins and apoptosis-related proteins in each group were determined by Western blot. Ovarian cancer cells were treated with rapamycin and hydroxychloroquine as autophagy activator and inhibitor, and Western blot assay was used to detect apoptosis. Results The expression level of LncRNA PICSAR in ovarian cancer tissues was higher than that in normal ovarian tissues. Compared with IOSE386 cell line, LncRNA PICSAR expression levels in ovarian cancer cell lines HO-8910, OVCAR-3 and A2780 increased. Compared with the si-NC group, the proliferation, invasion and migration ability of ovarian cancer cells in si-PICSAR group decreased, and the apoptosis rate increased. The autophagy level of ovarian cancer cells in si-PICSAR group was lower than that in si-NC group. After transfection with siRNA-PICSAR, rapamycin activated autophagy to reduce apoptosis, while hydroxychloroquine inhibited autophagy to promote apoptosis. Conclusion LncRNA PICSAR is highly expressed in ovarian cancer tissues and cell lines, and the malignant biological behavior of ovarian cancer cells can be inhibited by knockout of LncRNA PICSAR. The knockdown of LncRNA PICSAR may promote the apoptosis of ovarian cancer cells by regulating autophagy.