Objective: To explore the expression, function, and clinical significance of ZNF521 in colon cancer and its mechanism. Methods: Immunohistochemistry, Western blotting and qRT-PCR were used to detect the expression of ZNF521 and miR-211-5p in colon cancer tissues or cell lines; small interfering RNA (siRNA) and miRNA mimics were used to construct cell models with low expression of ZNF521 and high expression of miR-211-5p respectively; CCK-8 and Transwell experiments were used to detect cell proliferation, migration and invasion, respectively. Western blotting was used to detect the expression of apoptosis-related proteins Bax and Bcl-2, and the targeting relationship between miR-211-5p and ZNF521 was verified by the prediction of CircInteractome bioinformatics website and the double fluorescein reporter gene experiment. Results: Compared with normal colon tissues, the expression of ZNF521 in colon cancer specimens significantly increased, and was correlated with TNM stage increase, the low degree of differentiation, and local lymph node metastasis. In vitro experiments showed that knocking down ZNF521 or overexpressing miR-211-5p inhibited the proliferation, migration and invasion of colon cancer cells, and promoted apoptosis of colon cancer cells. Related mechanism studies confirmed that miR-211-5p targeted ZNF521 and negatively regulate the expression of the latter. Conclusion: ZNF521 acts as a cancer-promoting molecule to regulate proliferation, migration, invasion and apoptosis of colon cancer cells and is targetedly regulated by miR-211-5p.