ObjectiveTo study the effects of ATP citrate lyase (ACLY) gene on proliferation, apoptosis, invasion, and lipid metabolism of colon cancer cells.MethodsColon cancer cells HCT116 were transfected with lentiviral knockdown ACLY gene in vitro and divided into three groups according to cell treatment: HCT116 cells with ACLY gene knockdown as knockdown group, empty vector transfected cells as negative control group, and untreated colon cancer HCT116 cells as blank control group. After the stable new cell line was screened with puromycin, the expression of ACLY protein was detected by Western blot method, the lipid production of cells was detected by triglyceride test kit, the proliferation ability of cells was detected by CCK-8 method, the apoptosis rate was detected by flow cytometry, and the migration ability of cells was detected by cell scratch test.ResultsThe cell survival rate of the knockdown group was lower than those of the blank control group and the negative control group at 120 h, but there was no significant difference among the three groups at 24 h and 48 h. Compared with the negative control group and the blank control group, the apoptosis rate in the knockdown group increased, the 24 h migration ability and the level of intracellular triglyceride decreased.ConclusionACLY gene knockdown can inhibit the proliferation, apoptosis, and migration of colon cancer cells, and its mechanism may be related to the decrease of lipid synthesis ability of colon cancer cells.