Objective To study the effect of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) maternally imprinted genes 3 (MEG3) on human abortion villi development and to explore the related molecular mechanisms. Methods We collected the villi samples from 15 spontaneous abortion (SA) and 15 induced abortion (IA) patients. Immunohistochemistry was applied to detect the expressions of apoptosis factor Bax and apoptosis inhibitory factor Bcl-2 in villi samples. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) was used to analyze the levels of MEG3 of villi samples. Overexpression of MEG3 in human trophoblast cell line HTR-8/SVneo was identified by qPCR; the invasion ability of HTR-8/SVneo cells was examined by matrigel invasion assay in MEG3 overexpression and control groups. Results Immunohistochemistry showed that the expression of Bax in IA group was lower than that in SA group, while the expression of Bcl-2 was higher (P<0.01). The level of MEG3 in IA group was significantly higher than that in SA group (P<0.01). The expression of MEG3 was obviously increased and invasion ability was inhibited in MEG3 overexpressed HTR-8/SVneo cells (P<0.01). Conclusion LncRNAs MEG3 may regulate the apoptosis and invasive ability of bizarre trophoblastic cells and influence on the development of human villi.