Long noncoding RNAs regulate the occurrence and progression of numerous types of cancer, including bladder cancer (BCa). However, the role of long intergenic non‑protein coding RNA 978 (LINC00978) in BCa remains unknown. In the present study, it was identified that the LINC00978 expression level was significantly increased in BCa tissues compared with adjacent normal tissues. By performing cell proliferation, colony formation, Transwell and Matrigel assays, it was demonstrated that LINC00978 knockdown significantly inhibited the proliferation, migration and invasion of BCa cells. Conversely, overexpression of LINC00978 resulted in opposite effects. Mechanistically, it was demonstrated that LINC00978 served as a competing endogenous RNA to sponge microRNA‑4288 (miR‑4288), and LINC00978 knockdown significantly increased the expression level of miR‑4288 in BCa cells. Furthermore, it was demonstrated that the expression of LINC00978 was inversely correlated with the miR‑4288 expression level in BCa tissues. Furthermore, by performing a rescue assay, it was identified that inhibition of miR‑4288 was able to reverse the effects of LINC00978 knockdown on proliferation, migration and invasion of BCa cells. Collectively, the present study demonstrated that LINC00978 promoted BCa progression by sponging miR‑4288, suggesting that LINC00978 may represent a potential therapeutic target for BCa treatment.