Objective To study the effect of knockdown of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) expression by short hairpin RNA (shRNA) on proliferation, apoptosis and invasion of human gastric cancer cell line MKN-45 in vitro . Methods Specific shRNA plasmids to STAT3 were constructed, and then transfected into MKN-45 cells by lipofectamine methods. Cells were divided into three groups: control group, psiRNA-H1 transfected group as negative group and psiRNA-H1/STAT3 transfected group. Semi-quantitative RT-PCR and Western blotting were used to detect the expression of STAT3 mRNA and protein, respectively. Proliferation and apoptosis of the transfected cells were observed by methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT) method and flow cytometry (FCM), respectively. The invasion of the transfected MKN-45 cells was measured by Boyden chamber. Results Compared with the negative control cells, semi-quantitative RT-PCR and Western blotting showed that the expressions of STAT3 mRNA and protein were down-regulated in the psiRNA-H1/STAT3 transfected group ( P ＜ 0.05) . The subcloned recombinant plasmid expressing shRNA effectively inhibited MKN-45 cell growth and proliferation while empty plasmid had no such specific effect. Cell apoptosis rate increased significantly in psiRNA-H1/STAT3 transfected group （ P ＜ 0.01）, and the invasion of MKN-45 cells was efficiently inhabited in psiRNA-H1/STAT3 transfected group as compared with control group and psiRNA-H1 transfected group( P ＜ 0.01).Conclusion Recombinant plasmid psiRNA-H1/STAT3 shRNA significantly inhibits the proliferation and invasion of MKN-45 cells and promotes their apoptosis.