The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of interleukin-18 (IL-18) expression on regulating the viability and apoptosis of tongue squamous cell carcinoma (TSCC) cells in vitro and examine the underlying molecular events. Human IL-18 cDNA was cloned into the vector pcDNA3.1 (+) and transfected into CRL-1623™ cells. Quantitative reverse transcription-PCR (RT-qPCR), western blot analysis, immunofluorescence, cell viability MTT assay, flow cytometric Annexin V/propidium iodide (PI), Giemsa staining, and caspase-3 activity assay were performed. The data showed that overexpression of IL-18 protein reduced TSCC cell viability by inducing apoptosis. Compared with cells transfected with the control vector, IL-18 expression activated caspase-3, -7, and -9 by inducing their cleavage and increased the expression of interferon (IFN)-γ and cytochrome c mRNA, but reduced cyclin D1 and A1 expression in TSCC cells. IL-18 expression upregulated the expression and phosphorylation of glycogen synthase kinase (GSK)-3β protein in CRL1623 cells, whereas the selective GSK-3β inhibitor kenpaullone antagonized the effects of IL-18 protein on TSCC cells in vitro. The results indicated that IL-18 played an important role in the inhibition of TSCC cell growth and may be further investigated as a novel therapeutic target against TSCC.