Breviscapine (BVP) has previously been shown to inhibit the proliferation of hepatocellular carcinoma cells.However, little is known about the effects of BVP on non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) growth. Here, we aimedto study the effects of BVP on human NSCLC growth. We employed A549, NCL-H460 and A549 cells transfectedwith microRNA-7 (miR-7) mimic and inhibitor to investigate the effect of BVP on cell proliferation, apoptosis andapoptosis-associated molecules. The results showed that BVP significantly reduced the growth of A549 and NCLH460cells in a concentration-dependent and time-dependent manner, accompanied by a significant elevation ofapoptosis. Additionally, the present study also confirmed that BVP-treated A549 cells showed increased levels of Baxand microRNA-7 (miR-7) and a decreased level of Bcl-2. The up-regulation of miR-7 enhanced the BVP sensitivity ofNSCLC cells by suppressing cell proliferation and promoting cell apoptosis, while the inhibition of miR-7 reversedthe anti-proliferative pro-apoptotic effects of BVP. Pre-treatment with miR-7 mimics enhanced the BVP-mediateddown-regulation of Bax/Bcl-2 in NSCLC cells, while pre-treatment with the miR-7 inhibitor blocked the BVPmediateddown-regulation of Bax/Bcl. Taken together, these results confirm that BVP effectively inhibits NSCLCproliferation and that miR-7, as a novel target, is likely involved in BVP-induced growth suppression and theapoptosis of NSCLC cells.