HOTAIR is overexpressed in melanoma tissues and cells, especially in metastatic melanoma. High HOTAIR levels correlate with poor prognosis in melanoma patients. We also determined that HOTAIR functions as a competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) for miR-152-3p. miR-152-3p was decreased and acted as a tumor suppressor in melanoma, and c-MET was the functional target of miR-152-3p. Furthermore, HOTAIR promotes the growth and metastasis of melanoma cells by competitively binding miR-152-3p, which functionally liberates c-MET mRNA and results in the activation of the downstream PI3k/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway. We determined that HOTAIR acts as a ceRNA to promote malignant melanoma progression by sponging miR-152-3p.