To investigate the expression of hypoxia inducible factor 1-alpha (HIF-1alpha) and its correlation with P53 and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), immunohistochemical technique was employed to detect the protein expressions of HIF-1alpha, P53 and VEGF in specimens from 57 patients with lung cancer. The results indicated that the total positive proportion of HIF-1alpha expression was 63% and the HIF-1alpha expression was more frequent in bronchiole-alveolar carcinoma (86%) than in other lung cancer. There was a strong association of HIF-1alpha with VEGF and P53 protein expressions. It is concluded that HIF-1alpha overexpression is a common event in lung cancer, which may be related to the up-regulation of the angiogenic factor VEGF and oncogene mutant P53 protein.