Accumulating evidence suggests that aberrantly expressed microRNAs (miRNAs) contribute to the initiation and progression of human cancers. However, the underlying function of miR-193b in colorectal cancer (CRC) remains largely unexplored. Herein, we demonstrate that miR-193b is significantly down-regulated in CRC tissues compared with their normal counterparts. Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed that decreased miR-193b expression was closely associated with the shorter overall survival of patients with CRC. Through gain-and loss-of-function studies, we showed that miR-193b significantly suppressed CRC cell proliferation and invasion. In addition, bioinformatics analyses and luciferase reporter assays identified Stathmin 1 (STMN1) as the direct functional target of miR-193b in CRC. Furthermore, silencing of STMN1 resulted in a phenotype similar to that observed for overexpression of miR-193b, and restoration of STMN1 expression completely rescued the inhibitory effect of miR-193b in CRC cells. Taken together, our study implies the essential role of miR-193b in negatively regulating CRC progression, and a novel link between miR-193b and STMN1 in CRC.