A disintegrin and metalloprotease (ADAM) 17 has been implicated in the tumor progression of various types of solid tumor; however, little is known about its role in non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC). The present study evaluated whether the downregulation of ADAM17 affects cell proliferation, the cell cycle, cell migration and cell invasion in NSCLC. A recombinant lentiviral small hairpin RNA (shRNA) expression vector carrying ADAM17 was constructed and then infected into A549 cells, a human NSCLC cell line. Cell proliferation, cell cycle progression, cell migration and cell invasion were determined following the downregulation of ADAM17 by siRNA. It was revealed that downregulation of ADAM17 expression using an RNA silencing approach in A549 tumor cells significantly suppressed cell proliferation and invasion in vitro, and tumor growth in vivo. These data suggested that ADAM17 is an important regulator of the tumorigenic properties of human NSCLC and may be used as a potential anticancer therapeutic target in NSCLC.