Objective To investigate the effects and mechanisms of circCDYL on the proliferation and apoptosis of ovarian cancer cells. Methods Cervical cancer cell OC3 were divided into Vector group (transfected with empty plasmids), circCDYL group (transfected with circCDYL plasmids), circCDYL+CHQ group (transfected with circCDYL plasmids and incubated with 10μmol/L chloroquine) and circCDYL+miR-185-5p mimic group (co-transfected with circCDYL plasmids and miR-185-5p mimic). SK-OV-3 cells were divided into sh-NC group (transfected with shRNA negative control), sh-circCDYL group (transfected with circCDYL shRNA), sh-circCDYL+Rapa group (transfected with circCDYL shRNA and incubated with 1μmol/L rapamycin) and sh-circCDYL+miR-181b-5p inhibitor group (co-transfected with circCDYL shRNA and miR-181b-5p inhibitor). Apoptosis was detected by flow cytometry. The ability of proliferation could be valued by CCK8 and clone formation. Western blot detected LC3-Ⅱ and p62 proteins expression. The targeting relationship between circCDYL and miR-185-5p was verified by dual luciferase reporter genes. Results The proliferation ability and LC3-Ⅱ protein expression of OC3 cells in the circCDYL group were higher than those in the Vector group (P<0.05), while cell apoptosis and p62 expression were lower than those in the Vector group (P<0.05). The proliferation ability of OC3 cells in the circCDYL+CHQ group was lower than that in the circCDYL group (P<0.05), and cell apoptosis was higher than that in the circCDYL group (P<0.05). The proliferation ability and LC3-Ⅱ protein expression of SK-OV-3 in the sh-circCDYL group were lower than those in the sh-NC group (P<0.05), while cell apoptosis and p62 expression were higher than those in the sh-NC group (P<0.05). The proliferation ability of SK-OV-3 cells in the sh-circCDYL+Rapa group was higher than that in the sh-circCDYL group (P<0.05), and the apoptosis was lower than that in the sh-circCDYL group (P<0.05). The LC3-Ⅱ expression of OC3 cells in the circCDYL+miR-185-5p mimic group was lower than that in circCDYL group (P<0.05), and the p62 protein expression was higher than that in circCDYL group (P<0.05). The expression of LC3-Ⅱ protein of SK-OV-3 cells in the sh-circCDYL+miR-185-5p inhibitor group was higher than that in the sh-circCDYL group (P<0.05), and the expression of p62 protein was lower than that in the sh-circCDYL group (P<0.05). Conclusion circCDYL affects the proliferation and apoptosis of ovarian cancer cells by regulating autophagy