CPEB3 (cytoplasmic polyadenylation element binding protein 3) is a key factor that controls poly A tail extension during translation, exhibiting a tumor suppressor effect in several kinds of tumors. However, its expression characteristics and functional role in ovarian cancer (OC) remain unclear. In this study, we aimed to investigate the characteristics and mechanism of CPEB3 in OC. CPEB3 expression data from patient specimens, TCGA and GEO database were evaluated to assess its expression level in OC. Moreover, the effects of CPEB3 on tumor were further evaluated through nude mice xenograft model. We found that mRNA and protein levels of CPEB3 were downregulated in OC. Ectopic expression of CPEB3 decreased proliferation and invasion of OC. GO and KEGG enrichment analysis was performed to investigate the possible network of CPEB3 in ovarian cancer. RNA-binding protein immunoprecipitation confirmed the binding of CPEB3 and E-cadherin. Western blot, and transwell invasion assay confirmed that CPEB3 inhibited the invasion of OC cell by promoting E-cadherin translation. The results implied that CPEB3 plays an important role in the invasion and proliferation of OC and may serve as a target for the development of novel therapeutic strategies.