Identification of molecular pathways that are essential for cancer cell survival is vital for understanding the underlying biology, as well as to design effective cancer therapeutics. beta-catenin, a multifunctional oncogenic protein, participates in cell development. Its multifaceted functions primarily lie to the subcellular distribution. The present study demonstrated that beta-catenin accumulated in the nucleus to a greater extent in high-grade gliomas compared with low-grade gliomas. In addition, nuclear localization correlated with a worse prognosis for patients, as determined by immunohistochemical analysis of 74 glioma samples. Nuclear expression of beta-catenin was down-regulated in LN229 and U87 glioma cells by a small molecule inhibitor of beta-catenin/TCF4 signaling, demonstrating strongly inhibited beta-catenin/TCF4 transcriptional activity and STAT3 luciferase activity, as well as decreased mRNA and protein levels of nuclear beta-catenin, TCF4, EGFR, AKT1, AKT2 and STAT3. Furthermore, repressed nuclear translocation of beta-catenin resulted in inhibition of proliferation and invasiveness, and also induced apoptosis of glioma cells. Similar results were also observed in vivo; intratumoral injection of such small molecule inhibitor downregulated expression of nuclear beta-catenin, TCF4, and components of the EGFR pathway, and also delayed tumor growth in nude mice harboring subcutaneous U87 xenografts. Results from the present study provided evidence that nuclear accumulation of beta-catenin participated in malignant progression of gliomas and implicated poor prognosis, highlighting it as a potential therapeutic target for gliomas.