Cervical cancer is a common gynecological malignancy. Hiwi exhibits a high level of expression in cervical cancer cells. However, the effects of Hiwi expression in cervical cancer cells remain unresolved. In the present study, the effects of Hiwi downregulation on the growth and epithelial-mesenchymal transition of cervical cancer cells were investigated. The results of the present study revealed that the suppression of Hiwi was able to inhibit the proliferation of cervical cancer cells and arrest cell cycle at G1 phase. The downregulation of Hiwi was also revealed to inhibit the epithelial-mesenchymal transition process of cervical cancer cells by regulating the expression of E-cadherin, N-cadherin, vimentin, and snail. The present study demonstrated that the suppression of Hiwi was able to inhibit the growth and epithelial-mesenchymal transition of cervical cancer cells. Therefore, the results suggest that Hiwi may function as an oncogene in cervical cancer cells and may become a potential target for cervical cancer therapy.