This article reviews the advances in the research of the structural characteristics and the activating process of heat shock factor 1 (HSF-1), the factors that influence the expression of HSF-1, and the relationship between HSF-1 and the expression levels of NF-κB and heat shock protein (HSP). The expression of HSF-1 could be regulated in several stages in the course of interconversion between its active and inactive status. Unusual expression of HSF-1 mediated by NF-κB can lead to the quantitative and functional change of HSP. The quantitative and functional variation of HSP caused by regulation of HSF-1 could influence the normal synthesis and the pathological changes induced by excessive synthesis of protective proteins in cells under stress. We expect that further research would help elucidate novel pathways about the genesis and evolution mechanism of keloid, and it may finally help to find a novel strategy in the treatment of keloid.