Background: Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are engaged in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) progression, but the mechanisms remain to be elucidated. This study aimed to unveil the expression pattern and potential biological mechanisms of a newly indentified circRNA, circ-PAN3, in HCC. Methods: Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK‐8) assay and colony formation assay were used to assess cell proliferation. Transcription-quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) analysis and western blot analysis were used to determine the relative expression level of mRNA and protein, respectively. Cell apoptosis assay was used to evaluate the apoptosis rate of transfected cells. CircInteractome and Targetscan were utilized to predict the possible targets of circRNAs and miRNAs, respectively. Luciferase reporter assay and RNA pull-down assay were used to assess the direct interaction of RNAs. HCC cancer xenograft model was used to evaluate the biological process of circ-PAN3 in vivo. Student’s t test, χ2 test or one-way ANOVA was adopted appropriately.Results: Circ-PAN3 was elevated in HCC tissues, and patients with high Circ-PAN3 expression had a poor survival outcome. Knockdown of circ-PAN3 expression suppressed cell viability, colony formation and cell proliferation in vitro and in vivo. Circ-PAN3 elevates cyclin D1 expression to promote HCC progression. Subsequently, using CircInteractome, miR-153 were confirmed to interact with circ-PAN3 and was downregulated by circ-PAN3. Further, using Targetscan, cyclin D1 was validated to interact with miR-153 and was downregulated by miR-153. Addition of miR-153 expression with corresponsive mimics significantly reduced the expression of cyclin D1. Notably, the inhibition of cell viability, colony formation and proliferation induced by knockdown of circ-PAN3 were recovered following the combination with miR-153 inhibitor, cyclin D1, respectively. Conclusion: Together, this study demonstrated that a novel circ-PAN3/miR-153/cyclin D1 axis regulatory axis that promoted HCC progression.