The aim of the present study was to investigate the expression of receptor interacting protein 140 (RIP140) in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), and its association with the prognosis of patients with TNBC. A total of 179 patients with breast cancer were included in this study, with 41 cases of TNBC and 138 cases of non-TNBC. Immunohistochemical staining and western blotting were used to detect the protein expression of RIP140 in the cancerous and paracancerous tissues, revealing that expression of RIP140 was increased in TNBC tissues compared with non-TNBC tissues. High expression of RIP140 in breast cancer tissue was associated with a poorer survival time than low RIP140 expression. Using lentiviral transfection to downregulate RIP140 expression in MDA-MB-231 cells, the effects of RIP140 on the growth and proliferation of breast cancer cells was analyzed using subcutaneous tumors in BALB/c nude mice. Immunohistochemical staining using a Ki-67 antibody in subcutaneous tumor tissue was used to assess the proliferation of MDA-MB-231 cells. The short hairpin RNA-mediated downregulation of RIP140 in MDA-MB-231 cells suppressed the growth and the proliferation of subcutaneous tumors in BALB/c nude mice. Downregulation of RIP140 in breast cancer cells may therefore inhibit the growth and the proliferation of these cells, and may provide a therapeutic target for TNBC.