Long intergenic non-protein coding RNA, p53 induced transcript (Linc-pint) has been reported to be downregulated in various cancer cell lines; however, its expression profile and role in gastric cancer remains unknown. The present study aimed to investigate the involvement of Linc-pint in gastric cancer. Through quantitative polymerase chain reaction, western blotting and viability assays, it was observed that Linc-pint expression was significantly downregulated in gastric biopsies from patients with gastric cancer, compared with healthy controls. Conversely, the expression of hypoxia-inducible factor-1 alpha (HIF-1 alpha) mRNA was significantly upregulated in patients with gastric cancer compared with in healthy controls. Using a variety of statistical inference tests, including receiver operating characteristic curve and correlation analyses, it was determined that the expression levels of Linc-pint and HIF-1 alpha exhibited a significantly negative correlation in patients with gastric cancer but not in healthy controls. Linc-pint expression was significantly and inversely associated with tumor size but not tumor metastasis. Linc-pint overexpression inhibited the proliferation of gastric cancer cells, whereas treatment with exogenous HIF-1 alpha promoted proliferation. Linc-pint overexpression downregulated the expression of HIF-1 alpha, whereas exogenous HIF-1 alpha did not significantly alter Linc-pint expression. Furthermore, treatment with exogenous HIF-1 alpha suppressed the inhibitory effects of Linc-pint overexpression on the proliferation of gastric cancer cells. In conclusion, overexpression of Linc-pint may inhibit the growth of gastric tumors via downregulation of HIF-1 alpha.