Objective To investigate the effects of LINC00691 on the malignant biological behavior of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells.Methods RT-qPCR was used to detect the expressions of LINC00691 and miR-512-5p in 30 cases of NSCLC tissues and corresponding adjacent tissues. The dual luciferase reporter gene assay was used to verify the targeting relationship between LINC00691 and miR-512-5p. NSCLC A549 cells were cultured in vitro, and were designed into si-NC group, si-LINC00691 group, miR-NC group, miR-512-5p group, si-LINC00691+anti-miR-NC group and si-LINC00691+anti-miR-512-5p group. MTT and clone formation experiment were applied to detect the cell proliferation, and flow cytometry to detect cell apoptosis, and Transwell to detect cell migration and invasion. Western blotting was used to detect the expressions of Ki67, cleaved caspase-3, E-cadherin and N-cadherin proteins.Results The expression of LINC00691 increased in NSCLC cancer tissues (P<0.05), while the expression of miR-512-5p decreased (P<0.05). LINC00691 negatively regulated the miR-512-5p in A549 cells. Silenced LINC00691 or over-expressed miR-512-5p promoted the apoptosis rate and restrained the viability, colony formation, migration and invasion of A549 cells, down-regulated the expressions of Ki67 and N-cadherin proteins (P<0.05), but up-regulated the expressions of cleaved-caspase3 and E-cadherin proteins (P<0.05). Silenced miR-512-5p reversed the inhibitory effects of silenced LINC00691 on the proliferation, migration and invasion of A549 cells, as well as their apoptosis-promoting effects.Conclusion Silenced LINC00691 could inhibit the proliferation, migration and invasion, and promote the apoptosis of NSCLC cells by targeting up-regulation of miR-512-5p.