Objective:To investigate the effect of propofol on proliferation, invasion and migration of human melanoma cell line A375 via miR-137/fibroblast growth factor 9 (FGF9) pathway.Methods:A375 cells were cultured in vitro. The half inhibitory concentration and half inhibitory time of propofol on A375 cells were determined by methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT) method. miR-137 mimics and miR-137 inhibitors were transfected into A375 cells by lipofectamine method. A375 cells were divided into control group, propofol group, miR-137 mimics group, propofol+ miR-137 mimics group, miR-137 inhibitors group and propofol+ miR-137 inhibitors group. After treated with the optimal time and concentration, the mRNA expression of miR-137 and FGF9 was detected by real time fluorescence quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), and the invasion and migration ability of cells in vitro was detected by transwell method. Results:With the increase of propofol concentration, the proliferation rate of A375 cells was gradually decreased, and 80 μmol/L was selected as the half inhibition concentration. With the increase of propofol action time, the proliferation rate of A375 cells was gradually decreased, and 48 hours was selected as the half inhibition time. Compared with the control group, propofol could promote the expression of miR-137 mRNA, inhibit the expression of FGF9 mRNA, and inhibit the invasion and migration of A375 cells ( P<0.05). miR-137 mimics could promote the expression of miR-137 mRNA, inhibit the expression of FGF9 mRNA, and inhibit the invasion and migration of A375 cells. At the same time, after propofol intervention, the effect of promoting the expression of miR-137 mRNA, inhibiting the expression of FGF9 mRNA and inhibiting the invasion and migration of A375 cells was more significant ( P<0.05); miR-137 inhibitors could inhibit the expression of miR-137 mRNA, promote the expression of FGF9 mRNA, and promote the invasion and migration of A375 cells ( P<0.05). At the same time, after propofol intervention, the effects of inhibiting the expression of miR-137 mRNA, promoting the expression of FGF9 mRNA and promoting the invasion and migration of A375 cells were inhibited ( P<0.05). Conclusions:Propofol can inhibit the proliferation, invasion and migration of human melanoma cell line A375. The mechanism may be related to the inhibition of miR-137/FGF9 pathway activation by propofol.