The aim of the present study was to investigate the expression of microRNA-218 (miRNA-218) in the serum and cervical tissue and its association with the clinicopathological features of cervical cancer (CC). The expression of miRNA-218 was detected in the serum and cervical tissue of 112 patients with CC and 50 age-matched hysteromyoma patients via the reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction. The clinical data were collected and the association between the expression of miRNA-218 and the clinicopathological characteristics of the patients was analyzed. The expression of miRNA-218 in the cancer group was significantly decreased in the cervical tissue and serum compared with that in the control group (P<0.001). The decreased expression of miRNA-218 was associated with a later International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics stage, a more invasive pathological type and lymphatic node metastasis but not with age, age at menarche, menopausal status, number of pregnancies and deliveries, family history of cancer or tumor size. In conclusion, miRNA-218 was found to be downregulated in the cancer tissue and serum of the patients with CC. The decreased expression of miRNA-218 in CC was associated with the invasiveness of the tumor.