Background Growing evidence has shown that the association of long noncoding RNA/microRNA/mRNA is implicated in tumor initiation, development, and progression. Long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) HAND2-AS1 exhibits anti-cancer effects in diverse cancers. However, the knowledge of HAND-AS1 in bladder cancer development remains unknown. Methods LncRNA and miRNA microarray were conducted to explore different expressed RNA in primary bladder cancer specimens. RNA-RNA interaction prediction tools miRcode (http://www.mircode.org/), DIANA-lncBase v2 (https://carolina.imis.athena-innovation.gr/diana_tools/web/index.php?r=lncbasev2%2Findex-experimental), DIANA-TarBase v.8 (https://carolina.imis.athena-innovation.gr/diana_tools/web/index.php?r=tarbasev8%2Findex) and miRDB (http://www.mirdb.org/) were employed to predict the interactions between RNA. Bladder cancer cell lines were used to perform cell proliferation and apoptosis assays. Western blot and quantitative Real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction were used to determine the expression of protein and RNA, separately. Dual luciferase assay was conducted to determine the activity of 3’untranslational region of RARB. Furthermore, 5637 human bladder cancer mouse models were established to investigate the interactions of lncRNA: miRNA: mRNA in vivo.Results Based on the analysis of RT2 lncRNA PCR Arrays, we validated HAND2-AS1 declined in bladder cancer and correlated with the depth of invasion and grades negatively. Overexpression of HAND2-AS1 in human bladder cancer cells 5637 and RT4 hampered cell proliferation by provoking Caspase 3-triggered cell apoptosis. Besides, one of the HAND2-AS1 sponge, miR-146, upregulated in bladder cancer and targeted the tumor suppressor, retinoic acid receptor beta (RARB). We further demonstrated the HAND2-AS1: miR-146: RARB complex promoted Caspase 3-mediated apoptosis by suppressing COX-2 expression. Finally, results observed in mouse xenografts suggested that HAND2-AS1 diminished miR-146 expression, thereby reversing the suppression of miR-146 on RARB-mediated apoptosis and contributing to bladder cancer regression. Conclusion The present study shed light on the fact that lncRNA HAND2-AS1 exerted as a tumor suppressor by releasing RARB from miR-146, leading to inhibition of tumor proliferation and invasion. The findings expanded the knowledge of HAND2-AS-mediated regulatory networks, provided novel insights to improve the RARB-targeted regimens against bladder cancer.