To investigate the role of microRNA (miR)‑149 in the cardiac differentiation of mouse bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in vitro, MSCs were infected with a lentivirus overexpressing miR‑149 and the effect on cardiac differentiation was determined. The quantitative polymerase chain reaction results demonstrated that miR‑149 promoted the expression of cardiac‑specific markers in MSCs. Western blotting and a luciferase activity assay demonstrated that disabled homolog 2 (Dab2) was a direct target of miR‑149. Dab2 ectopic expression and Wnt/β‑catenin signaling pathway inhibition was able to reverse the increased expression of cardiac‑specific markers induced by miR‑149. In conclusion, miR‑149 was able to target Dab2 and promote the cardiac differentiation of mouse MSCs in vitro, which depended upon the Wnt/β‑catenin signaling pathway.