Abstract Background Cancer is commonly associated with widespread disruption of DNA methylation, chromatin modification and miRNA expression. In this study, we established a robust discovery pipeline to identify epigenetically deregulated miRNAs in cancer. Results Using an integrative approach that combines primary transcription, genome-wide DNA methylation and H3K9Ac marks with microRNA (miRNA) expression, we identified miRNA genes that were epigenetically modified in cancer. We find miR-205, miR-21, and miR-196b to be epigenetically repressed, and miR-615 epigenetically activated in prostate cancer cells. Conclusions We show that detecting changes in primary miRNA transcription levels is a valuable method for detection of local epigenetic modifications that are associated with changes in mature miRNA expression.