Objective To investigate the role of long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) LINC00342 in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) and its mechanism. Methods The expression of LINC00342 in ccRCC tissues was analyzed by the Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis (GEPIA) database, and the relationship between LINC00342 expression and patient survival was analyzed. The expression of LINC00342 in ccRCC tissues and ccRCC cell lines was detected by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), and its correlation with the clinicopathological characteristics of patients was analyzed. The ccRCC cells were divided into small interfering RNA group, negative control group, and blank group. The effects of LINC00342 on the proliferation, migration and invasion of ccRCC cells were verified by cell counting kit 8 (CCK-8) assay, scratch wound healing assay, and Transwell invasion assay. The expression of proteins involved in the epithelialmesenchymal transition (EMT) pathway was detected by Western blotting. The target genes of LINC00342 were predicted by bioinformatics, and the targeting relationship of LINC00342 and microRNA (miRNA)-384 was validated by dual-luciferase reporter gene assay. Results The analysis of the GEPIA database showed that LINC00342 was highly expressed in ccRCC tissues, and the patients with high LINC00342 expression had a low overall survival rate (both P<0.05). The qPCR results showed that the expression of LINC00342 was significantly increased in both ccRCC tissues and ccRCC cells (both P<0.05). The patients with high LINC00342 expression had larger tumor size and later clinical stage (both P<0.05). Silencing the expression of LINC00342 by small interfering RNA inhibited the proliferation, migration and invasion of ccRCC cells (all P< 0.05), down-regulated the expression of vimentin and N-cadherin, and up-regulated the expression of E-cadherin (all P<0.05). Bioinformatic analysis showed that miRNA-384 had a binding site with LINC00342, and the results of dual-luciferase reporter gene assay indicated that miRNA-384 was one of the downstream target genes of LINC00342. Conclusion LINC00342 can promote the malignant phenotype of ccRCC cells. miRNA-384 is one of the downstream target genes of LINC00342.