Synaptotagmin‑7 (SYT7) is a member of the synaptotagmin gene family, and encodes a protein that mediates the calcium‑dependent regulation of membrane trafficking during synaptic transmission. A previous study demonstrated that the expression of SYT7 is associated with prostate cancer and serves an important role in development of prostate cancer. However, the roles of SYT7 in the progression of glioma remain unknown. In the present study, reverse transcription‑quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT‑qPCR) analysis demonstrated that SYT7 was expressed in three human glioma cell lines. Western blotting and RT‑qPCR analysis demonstrated the knockdown efficiency of SYT7 shRNA in 293T cells and U87MG cells. Celigo Image Cytometer Analysis, a caspase‑3/7 assay, flow cytometry and an MTT assay demonstrated that the proliferation of U87MG cells was inhibited as SYT7 was downregulated by a lentiviral vector expressing SYT7 shRNA, via the promotion of cellular apoptosis. The results of the present study demonstrated that the downregulation of SYT7 inhibited glioblastoma growth by promoting cellular apoptosis, and that SYT7 may therefore be a potential target for glioma intervention.