MicroRNA‑375 (miR‑375) serves an important role in cancer development and growth. However, little is known about the role of miR‑375 in the regulation of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) metastasis and invasion. The present study measured the expression levels of miR‑375 in Tca8113, UM2, UM1 and CAL‑27 cell lines, using reverse transcription‑quantitative polymerase chain reaction. The results demonstrated that miR‑375 expression levels were significantly reduced in UM1 and CAL‑27 (highly metastatic) compared with Tca8113 and UM2 (less aggressive) OSCC cell lines. Furthermore, it was revealed that overexpression of miR‑375 suppressed the migration and invasion of UM1 cells. Based on a luciferase reporter assay, platelet‑derived growth factor‑A (PDGF‑A) was identified as a direct target gene of miR‑375. Additionally, overexpression of PDGF‑A significantly reversed the effect of miR‑375 on cell migration and invasion in UM1 cells. These data demonstrated that miR‑375 suppressed OSCC cell migration and invasion by targeting PDGF‑A, which may be a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of OSCC.