Objective: To investigate the expression of long non-coding RNA MALAT1 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tissue and its significance. Methods: The MALAT1 expressions in 85 paired specimens of HCC and adjacent tissues were determined by qRT-PCR, and the relations of MALAT1 expression with clinicopathologic factors of the patients were analyzed. The changes in abilities of proliferation and invasion/metastasis in HCC SMMC-7721 cells after MALAT1 overexpression or knock-down were examined by CCK-8 and Transwell assay, respectively. Results: The MALAT1 expression in HCC tissue was significantly higher than that in cancer-adjacent normal tissue (P<0.01; the MALAT1 expression was significantly related to the tumor size, differentiation, TNM stage and lymph node metastasis of the patients (all P<0.05). In SMMC-7721 cells, the abilities of proliferation and invasion/metastasis were significantly enhanced after MALAT1 overexpression, and were significantly reduced after MALAT1 knock-down (all P<0.05). Conclusion: MALAT1 expression is up-regulated in HCC tissue, and it can promote proliferation and invasion/metastasis of HCC cells, so it may be closely associated with the occurrence and development of HCC.