Circular RNAs are a large class of noncoding RNA that have shown huge capabilities as gene regulators. Recent evidence suggest that circular RNAs are associated with many diseases, especially cancer. However, little attention has been focused on the expression and function of circular RNA in gastric cancer (GC). In this study, we demonstrate that the expression of circ-104916 is downregulated in GC tissues and cell lines. A lower expression of circ-104916 appeared in deeper invasion depth, higher tumor stage and more frequent lymphatic metastasis patients. Overexpression of circ-104916 effectively inhibited the proliferation, migration and invasion abilities of GC cells in vitro. Western blot showed that circ-104916 overexpression upregulated E-cadherin and downregulated N-cadherin, Vimentin and Slug, indicating that circ-104916 was involved in the epithelial–mesenchymal transition process. Our results revealed that circ-104916 might be a novel potential tumor suppressor and biomarker of GC.