IQ motif containing GTPase activating protein1 (IQGAP1) is a scaffold protein, which is aberrantly expressed in several tumor types and is closely associated with the development, metastasis and prognosis of cancer. Several studies have demonstrated that IQGAP1 has broad prospects in the basic and clinical research of tumors. The present study aimed to explore the effects of IQGAP1-small interfering (si) NA on the proliferation and metastasis of U251 and U373 glioma cell lines, which markedly expressed IQGAP1. The human glioma cell lines (U251 and U373) were transfected with siRNA and transfection efficacy was confirmed by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and western blot analysis. Cell proliferation was detected using the Cell Counting kit-8, and cell metastasis capabilities were detected using cell adhesion, migration and invasion assays. In addition, the expression levels of several tumor-associated genes were determined by RT-qPCR and western blotting. The results indicated that IQGAP1 was expressed at higher levels in glioma tissues compared with in normal brain tissues. IQGAP1-siRNA significantly inhibited cell proliferation, and cell adhesion, migration and invasion. Furthermore, the expression levels of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)2, Snail, MMP9, fibronectin 1 and Twist were suppressed, and E-cadherin was upregulated in response to siRNA-IQGAP1. The present study identified the function of IQGAP1 in glioma cell biology, and indicated that it may be considered a novel target for glioma treatment.