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Objectives The mechanism of curcumin inhibiting renal cancer 786-O cells proliferation through MTOR signaling pathway was investigated. Methods Human renal cancer 786-O cells were cultured with curcumin for 48 h. The OD values were measured by the MTT method, and the growth inhibition rate of 786-O cells was calculated. The cell cycle distribution and apoptosis rate were detected by flow cytometry (FCM). Transwell chamber was introduced to detect cell invasion ability. Cell migration ability was detected by the cell scratch test. The protein expression was assessed by Western blot. Results With curcumin concentration increasing, the expressions of MMP2, MMP9, MTOR, and p-MTOR proteins and the number of cells in the S phase decreased gradually, while number of cells in G1 and G2/M phases and cells apoptosis rate increased continuously. With the increasing of concentration and time, growth of 786-O cells in each treatment group was inhibited to varying degrees. The higher the inhibition rate was, the cells migration and transmembrane cells proportion decreased significantly. Conclusions Curcumin inhibits the proliferation, migration, and invasion and induces apoptosis of renal cancer 786-O cells by blocking the MTOR signaling pathway. It may be related to the downregulation of MMP2 and MMP9 proteins.