MiR-196a could play important roles in carcinogenesis by targeting many protein coding genes. However, little is known about whether miR-196a can target any long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs). In the present study, we screen lncRNAs which are regulated by miRNA-196a in human esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). We found that miR-196a could suppress the expression of lncRNA growth arrest specific 5(GAS5). GAS5 is frequently down-regulated in 86 paired human ESCC tissues. Importantly, there was lower GAS5 expression in the late stage of ESCC patients. The reduced expression of GAS5 in ESCC may not be related to DNA methylation but related to the high expression of miR-196a. In vitro and in vivo studies indicated that GAS5 could inhibit the growth of ESCC cells. Using Chromatin Isolation by RNA Purification-qPCR, we found that miR-196a could bind to GAS5. The Luciferase Reporter Assay indicated that miR-196a could bind to the seventh exon of GASS. Additionally, both GAS5 and miR-196a could bind to Agog which is a key component of the RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC). Together, these results suggest that GAS5 functions as a tumor suppressor gene in ESCC and is regulated by miR-196a involved in RISC. (C) 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.