Aberrant expression of ubiquitin Protein ligase E3C (UBE3C) has been documented in breast cancer (BC). MicroRNAs (miRNAs) were shown to play an important role in the regulation of tumor properties in BC. However, whether miRNAs contributes to UBE3C expression in BC cells remains poorly understood. In this study, we report that UBE3C was a direct target of miR-30a-5p. Expression of miR-30a-5p in BC cells reduced UBE3C expression. MCF-7 and MDA-MB-453 cells were transfected miR-30a-5p-overexpression, and found that cell proliferation and migration were inhibited. In contrast, when miR-30a-5p inhibitor were transfected into MCF-7 and MDA-MB-453 cells, cell proliferation and migration were promoted. We study demonstrated that upreguiation of miR-30a-5p was significantly suppressed levels of cyclin B1, cyclin D1 and c-myc. Moreover, Correlation analysis indicated that expression of miR-30a-5p was highly negatively correlated with UBE3C, which was upregulated in BC specimens. These data highlight the important role of miR-30a-5p/UBE3C axis in BC development and progression. Therefore, miR-30a-5p activation or UBE3C inhibition may be provide a novel strategy for the treatment of BC. (C) 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.