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Background It is well known that nuclear factor of activated T cells c1 (NFATc1) expression is closely associated with progression of many cancers. And we found that miR‐338 could directly target the NFATc1. However, the precise mechanisms of miR‐338 in non‐small‐cell lung cancer (NSCLC) have not been well clarified. Our study aimed to explore the interaction between NFATc1 and miR‐338 in NSCLC. Methods Quantitative RT‐PCR was utilized to determine the expressions of NFATc1 and miR‐338 in NSCLC tissues and cell lines. And the cell proliferation and epithelial‐mesenchymal transition (EMT) were assessed to determine the functional roles of miR‐338 and NFATc1 in NSCLC cells. NFATc1 expression was detected using quantitative RT‐PCR and western blotting, respectively. Luciferase reporter assays were performed to validate NFATc1 as a target of miR‐338 in NSCLC cells. Results In this study, our results showed that NFATc1 expression was significantly up‐regulated in NSCLC tissues and cell lines, and the miR‐338 level was dramatically down‐regulated. Moreover high NFATc1 expression was closely associated with low miR‐338 level in NSCLC tissues. Moreover introduction of miR‐338 significantly inhibited proliferation and EMT of NSCLC cells. Bioinformatics analysis predicted that the NFATc1 was a potential target gene of miR‐338. We demonstrated that miR‐338 could directly target NFATc1 by using luciferase reporter assay. Besides, knockdown of NFATc1 had the similar effects with miR‐338 overexpression on NSCLC cells. Up‐regulation of NFATc1 in NSCLC cells partially abolished the inhibitory effects of miR‐338 mimic. Conclusions Overexpression of miR‐338 inhibited cell proliferation and EMT of NSCLC cells by directly down‐regulating NFATc1 expression., Overexpression of miR‐338 significantly inhibited the proliferation and epithelial‐mesenchymal transition of non‐small‐cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cell. Moreover introduction of nuclear factor of activated T cells c1 (NFATc1) reversed the inhibitory effects of miR‐338 overexpression. Therefore, our outcomes showed critical roles for miR‐338/ NFATc1 axis in the pathogenesis of NSCLC and suggested its possible application in tumor treatment.