Ginseng has become one of the most commonly used alternative herbal medicines, and its active component, ginsenoside Rg1 has known pharmacological effects, including anticancer properties. However, the effects of ginsenoside Rg1 on metastasis have yet to be investigated. In this study, we demonstrated the ability of ginsenoside Rg1 to suppress phorbol myristate acetate (PMA)-induced invasion and migration in MCF-7 breast cancer cells. MCF-7 cells were treated with ginsenoside Rg1 and incubated with or without PMA. The protein and mRNA expression of MMP-9 and MMP-2 was analyzed using Transwell and wound‑healing assays and western blotting. The results showed that suppression was associated with the reduced secretion of MMP-9, a key metastatic enzyme. MMP-9 levels were regulated transcriptionally and correlated with the suppression of NF-κB phosphorylation and DNA binding activity. Conversely, ginsenoside Rg1 did not affect MMP-2 mRNA and TIMP-1 mRNA levels, or the activation of AP-1, suggesting a specificity of pathway inhibition. Inhibition of NF‑κB activation by p65 small‑interfering RNA (siRNA) was shown to suppress PMA-induced cell invasion and migration. The siRNA studies also showed that PMA-induced MMP-9 expression is NF-κB-dependent. The results suggested that the anticancer properties of ginsenoside Rg1 may derive from its ability to inhibit invasion and migration, and that these processes are regulated in breast cancer cells through the NF-κB‑mediated regulation of MMP-9 expression.