The long noncoding RNA (IncRNA) ATB is an important regulator in human tumors. Here, we aimed to investigate the potential molecular mechanisms of Inc-ATB in gastric cancer (GC) tumorigenesis. RT-qPCR analysis was used to detect Inc-ATB expression level in 20 pairs of gastric cancer tissues and adjacent normal gastric mucosa tissues (ANTs). Moreover, the biological role of lnc-ATB was determined in vitro. We found that lnc-ATB was significantly upregulated in GC tissues compared to Inc-ATB expression in ANTs. These high lnc-ATB expression levels predicted poor prognosis in GC patients. Low levels of Inc-ATB inhibited GC cell proliferation and cell cycle arrest in vitro. Lnc-ATB was found to directly bind miR-141-3p. Moreover, TGF-beta actives Inc-ATB and TGF-beta 2 directly binds mir-141-3p. Finally, we demonstrated that Inc-ATB fulfilled its oncogenic roles in a ceRNA-mediated manner. Our study suggests that lnc-ATB promotes tumor progression by interacting with miR-141-3p and that Lnc-ATB may be a valuable prognostic predictor for GC. In conclusion, the positive feedback loop of lnc-ATB/miR-141-3p/TGF-132 may be a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of GC. (C) 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.