Abstract: Objective To explore the expression of hypoxia inducible factor-1α(HIF-1α) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and their relationship. Methods The expression of HIF-1αand VEGF was examined in 42 patients with renal cell carcinoma by SABC methods of immunohistochemistry. Results The positivity rate of HIF-1α was 57.1% in the RCC tissues, and there was no expression in the tissue adjacent to the tumor and normal tissues. The positivity rate of VEGF was 61.9% in the tumor tissues, with significant difference from the control tissues (P<0.05). The expression levels of HIF-1α and VEGF were significantly higher in metastatic RCC than in non-metastatic RCC (P<0.01) tissues, and there was a significant correlation between HIF-1α and VEGF expressions (Kappa=0.41, P<0.01). Conclusions HIF-1α is highly expressed in renal cell carcinoma tissues in close correlation with VEGF. HIF-1α and VEGF may serve as important indicators to evaluate the biological behaviors of RCC such as metastasis and prognosis. HIF-1α is an important regulator of VEGF.