The current study investigated the expression and functional roles of microRNA‑139 (miR‑139) on human epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). Reverse transcription‑quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT‑qPCR) was performed to measure miR‑139 expression in EOC tissues and cell lines. The effects of miR‑139 on EOC cell proliferation, migration and invasion were assessed using MTT, cell migration and invasion assays, respectively. Subsequently, the molecular mechanism underlying the tumor suppressive roles of miR‑139 on EOC was determined by bioinformatics analysis, RT‑qPCR, western blotting and the luciferase reporter assay. According to the results, it was identified that miR‑139 was significantly downregulated in EOC tissues and cell lines. In addition, restoration of miR‑139 suppressed tumor cell proliferation, migration and invasion in EOC. Furthermore, hepatoma‑derived growth factor (HDGF) was identified as a target of miR‑139 in EOC. Upregulation of HDGF could rescue the inhibitory effects exerted by miR‑139 overexpression on EOC cell proliferation, migration and invasion. Collectively, the results indicated that miR‑139 was downregulated in EOC, and acted as a tumor suppressor by directly targeting HDGF. To the best of our knowledge, this was the first study to identify that miR‑139 contributes to the growth and metastasis of EOC.