Autophagy, part of the innate immune defense mechanisms, is activated during the initial phase of septic insult. Previous studies indicated that micro (mi)RNAs are additionally involved in the host response to sepsis; however, the association between miRNAs and autophagy during this process is not fully understood. To study the role of miRNA (miR)‑23a in autophagy initiated by sepsis, macrophages treated with lipopolysaccharides, in addition to blood samples from patients, were evaluated for miR‑23a expression levels. Cell viability, inflammatory mediators and autophagic markers were investigated following overexpression or inhibition of miR‑23a. The results suggested that miR‑23a was suppressed subsequent to septic insult, promoting autophagy and suppressing a hyper inflammatory response, leading to enhanced cell viability. A luciferase assay and western blot analysis confirmed ubiquitin‑like protein ATG12 to be the target of miR‑23a. The present study revealed that the downregulation of miR‑23a regulates an inflammatory response during septic insult via autophagy promotion.