Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are considered a promising candidate for use in cellbased therapy for cartilage repair. To promote understanding of the molecular control of chondrogenesis differentiation in MSCs, we compared the changes in micro-RNAs during in vitro chondrogenesis process of human bone-marrow mesenchymal stem cells (hBMSCs). MiR-199b-5p was up-regulated significantly during this process. The aim of the study was to investigate the effects of miR-199b-5p on chondrogenic differentiation of C3H10T1/2 MSC cells and explore the underlying mechanisms. MiR-199b-5p mimics or inhibitor were transfected into C3H10T1/2 cells, respectively, and then, the effects of miR-199b-5p on chondrogenic differentiation of C3H10T1/2 cells were detected. The results indicated that miR-199b-5p overexpression inhibited the growth of C3H10T1/2 cells but promoted transforming growth factor-β3 (TGF-β3)-induced C3H10T1/2 cells of chondrogenic differentiation, as supported by enhancing the gene and protein expression of chondrocyte specific markers of SOX9, aggrecan, and collagen type II (Col2a1). In contrast, inhibiting miR-199b-5p notably promoted the proliferation of C3H10T1/2 cells but decreased chondrogenic differentiation. Furthermore, mechanism studies revealed that JAG1 was a direct target of miR-199b-5p by dual luciferase reporter assays. While silencing of JAG1 by isRNA resulted an increase of chondrogenic differentiation. Further, JAG1 knockdown was demonstrated to block the effect of miR-199b-5p inhibition. In conclusion, the present study revealed for the first time that miR-199b-5p was the positive regulators to modulate chondrogenic differentiation of C3H10T1/2 cells by targeting JAG1. These findings may provide a novel insight on miRNA-mediated MSC therapy for cartilage related disorders.