Objective To investigate the expression of zinc finger protein 114 (ZNF114) in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) and its relationship with clinicopathological features of NPC. Methods The expression of ZNF114 in NPC was analyzed by bioinformatics methods in the cancer genome atlas database and verified by immunohistochemistry. Methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT) assay, Scratch assay, EdU and Transwell assays were used to confirm the effect of ZNF114 on the proliferation, migration and invasion of NPC. Results ZNF114 was highly expressed in NPC and correlated with tumor size, lymph node metastasis, histological grade and clinical stage of NPC. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that low expression of ZNF114 had a better prognosis in overall survival, disease-specific survival and progression-free interval of NPC. Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) functions were mainly enriched in calcium signaling pathway, estrogen signaling pathway and primary immunodeficiency. Immunohistochemical results indicated that ZNF114 was highly expressed in NPC tissues and correlated with lymph node metastasis. Knockdown of ZNF114 could significantly inhibit the growth, migration and invasion of NPC cells. Conclusion ZNF114 is involved in the proliferation and invasion of NPC, and may be a predictive prognostic marker for this tumor.