Ischemic stroke， craniocerebral trauma， epilepsy， brain tumor， Huntington disease， Alzheimer disease and other diseases are common and serious brain diseases in clinical practice. The pathogenesis of the above diseases involves part of the same process. Diseases can cause physiological and psychological impacts on patients， and in severe cases， can endanger their lives. Hypoxia-inducible factor-1α （HIF-1α） plays an important role in the interaction between inflammation and hypoxia. In addition， HIF-1α is a major regulator of the body's adaptation to hypoxia and is highly expressed in hypoxic environment. This review summarized the composition， regulation， and biological effects of HIF-1α， as well as the role of HIF-1α in brain diseases.