Hypoxia inducible factor- 1α（HIF- 1α）is a key factor of cell hypoxia adaptation and response mediation and plays a pivotal role in many physiological and pathologic processes, such as inflammatory diseases and tumor. The study of HIF- 1αcontrolling tumor biological characteristic changes becomes a present hotspot of tumor research. It has been shown that over expression of HIF- 1α in many animal and human tumor influences on tumor growth, angiogenesis, apoptosis, invasion and metastasis properties through controlling its downstream genes. Recently, great achievements have been made in the relationship between HIF- 1α and development of head and neck neoplasm based on HIF- 1αtherapy strategies. In this review, it was discussed relevant literatures on HIF- 1α with research progress in oral tumor therapy.
