There is increasing evidence to suggest that microRNAs (miRNAs; miRs) are involved in the development of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). miR-216a has been identified as being involved in tumorigenesis, however, the mechanisms of miR-216a in various types of cancer, either as a tumor suppressor or as an oncogenic miRNA, and the specific regulatory role of miR-216a in OSCC remain to be elucidated. The present study demonstrated that the expression of miR-216a was significantly reduced in OSCC tissues and cell lines. Overexpression of miR-216a significantly suppressed the proliferation, colony formation, migration and invasion of the OSCC cells. In addition, eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4B (EIF4B) was identified as a direct target of miR-216a, which was observed to be upregulated in the OSCC tissues. Furthermore, overexpression of EIF4B significantly attenuated the antitumor effect of miR-216a, and a negative correlation was observed between miR-216a and EIF4B in the OSCC tissues. Taken together, these findings indicated that miR-216a has a suppressive role in OSCC cells by directly targeting EIF4B, and may function as a potential prognostic biomarker and novel therapeutic target.