Objective To study the effect of fucosyltransferase 8 ( FUT8) expression on the proliferation and invasion ability of colorectal cancer cells, and to explore the molecular mechanism of its function. Methods The Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis(GEPIA) database was used to analyze the expression levels of FUT8 in colorectal cancer tissues. SW480 colorectal cancer cells were routinely cultured and divided into a si-NC group and a si-FUT8 group that were transfected with NC siRNA and FUT8 siRNA, respectively. FUT8 knockdown was detected by Western blot.SW480 cells in the si-NC and si-FUT8 groups were treated with the AKT signaling activator SC79, and then divided into si- NC, si-FUT8, si-NC+SC79, and si-FUT8+SC79 groups. CCK8 and Boyden chamber assays were performed to detect the cell proliferation and invasion of each group. Western blot was used to detect the expression of AKT, pAKT, and β-catenin. Results The GEPIA database analysis showed that the expression of FUT8 in colorectal cancer tissue was significantly higher than that in normal colorectal tissue. Compared with the si-NC group, the expression of FUT8 in the cells of the si- FUT8 group was reduced ( P< 0. 05), while compared with the si-NC and si-NC + SC79 groups, the proliferation and invasion of si-FUT8 group and si-NC+SC79 group cells were reduced, and pAKT and β-catenin expression was decreased. The proliferation and invasion of the si-NC+SC79 group cells were increased compared with the si-FUT8 group, and pAKT and β-catenin expression was increased. Conclusions Knockdown of FUT8 may inhibit the proliferation and invasion of colorectal cancer cells by regulating the AKT/ β-catenin signaling pathway.