Osteosarcoma, which is the most common type of primary bone tumor in adolescents, is characterized by complex genetic alterations and frequent resistance to conventional treatments. MicroRNAs (miRs) have emerged as fundamental regulators in gene expression through their ability to silence gene expression at post-transcriptional and translational levels. The present study investigated the role of miR‑410 in the progression of osteosarcoma. The results demonstrated that the expression of miR‑410 was markedly downregulated in human osteosarcoma tissues, and U2OS and MG‑63 osteosarcoma cell lines. Clinicopathological significance suggested that miR‑410 may be a potential biomarker for chemotherapy‑resistant osteosarcoma. Furthermore, overexpression of miR‑410 exhibited a limited effect on cell viability in U2OS and MG‑63 cells. Target prediction algorithms (TargetScan and miRanda) indicated that autophagy related 16‑like 1 (ATG16L1) was a potential target gene of miR‑410. A luciferase reporter assay demonstrated that miR‑410 directly decreased ATG16L1 expression by targeting its 3'‑untranslated region. In addition, the results revealed that miR‑410 was able to markedly inhibit autophagy. Accordingly, autophagy was activated as a protective mechanism when osteosarcoma cells were exposed to three common anticancer drugs, including rapamycin, doxorubicin and cisplatin. Furthermore, the autophagy inhibitor 3‑methyladenine and miR‑410 expression were able to improve the therapeutic response of the cells to chemotherapy drugs (rapamycin, doxorubicin and cisplatin), thus indicating that miR‑410 enhanced chemosensitivity through autophagy inhibition in osteosarcoma cells. In conclusion, studies regarding the function of miR‑410 on autophagy provided insight into the biological function of miR‑410 in osteosarcoma and may offer a promising approach for the treatment of osteosarcoma.