BackgroundMicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small RNAs with oncogenic and tumor-suppressing functions in cancer. miRNAs not only regulate various target genes but also participate in vital signaling pathways. Methods and resultsThe tumor-suppressing function of miRNA-107 (miR-107) was confirmed in clear cell renal cell carcinoma in 52 paired clinical specimens and renal cell carcinoma cell lines. Significant correlations were noted between clinical features and miR-107 expression level. Lentiviral vector and biosynthesis mimics were used to overexpress pre-miR-107 or mimicked miR-107 to investigate further the tumorigenesis of miR-107 in vivo and in vitro. Cell proliferation and invasiveness were inhibited in the 786-O cell line after miR-107 was delivered. High miR-107 level expression can apparently induce cell cycle arrest at the G2/M phase and retard tumor growth in nude mice. In addition, eukaryotic translation initiation factor 5 was found to be a direct target of miR-107 and exhibited an inverse relationship with miR-107. It was seen that p53 and VHL genes, which are implicated in renal tumors, were associated with miR-107. ConclusionIn summary, our results showed that miR-107 can inhibit cell proliferation and invasiveness of renal cell carcinoma. Furthermore, this study may provide a potential therapeutic regimen for clear cell renal cell carcinoma treatment.