Long noncoding RNAs (IncRNAs) represent a novel type of noncoding RNAs of over 200 nucleotides, characterized by no or limited protein-coding potential. Although the function of IncRNAs attracts increasing attention recently, the relationship between IncRNA and colorectal cancer (CRC) remains further investigation. In our study, we found that IncRNA HAND2-AS1 was markedly downregulated in CRC tissues. And its expression level was negatively correlated with metastasis and advanced stage in CRC patients. Furthermore, we showed that HAND2-AS1 low expression predicted poor prognosis. Functionally, we found that overexpression of HAND2-AS1 obviously attenuated the proliferation and invasion of CRC cells. Ectopic expression of HAND2-AS1 also inhibited tumor propagation in vivo. In mechanism, HAND2-AS1 served as a sponge of miR-1275 which targeted KLF14. Through facilitating KLF14 expression, HAND2-AS1 suppressed CRC progression. In conclusion, our study demonstrated that HAND2-AS1 exerts a suppressive role in CRC by sponging miR-1275 and modulating KLF14 expression. (C) 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.