MicroRNAs are strongly implicated as affecting glioma, but their specific roles and functions have yet to be fully elucidated. In this study, we defined the expression and function of miR-24, which we found to be upregulated in glioma samples and glioma cells by qRT-PCR. Downregulation of miR-24 in glioma cell lines inhibited proliferation and invasion and induced apoptosis. Using computational and expression analysis, ST7L was identified as a candidate target of miR-24. A reporter assay with the 3'UTR of ST7L cloned downstream of a luciferase gene showed increased luciferase activity in the absence of miR-24, providing strong evidence that miR-24 is a direct regulator of ST7L. Furthermore, we observed that restoration of ST7L activity resulted in effects that were similar to those from transfecting a miR-24 inhibitor into glioma cells. Mechanistic investigation revealed that the deletion of miR-24 suppressed beta-catenin/Tcf-4 transcription activity by targeting ST7L. In conclusion, our study demonstrates that miR-24 upregulation is common in glioma and that suppression of miR-24 expression inhibits cell proliferation and invasion, suggesting that miR-24 may act as an oncogene in glioma. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.