Aim To evaluate the effect of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α(HIF-1α) to myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury of rats. Methods Rats received ligation of the proximal left anterior descending coronary artery(LCA) for 30 min,followed by reperfusion for 180 min.They were divided into three groups: dimethyloxalylglycine(DMOG) group,control group and the sham operation group without ligation of LCA.In control group,0.5 mL saline were administered intraperitoneally 24 h before ischemia-reperfusion injury. Results DMOG increase the expression of HIF-1α and HO-1 gene significantly.The infarct size in DMOG group and saline group was 23.56%±2.12% and 35.21%±2.34% respectively.The infarct size in DMOG group decreased significantly than that in saline group(p<0.01).Caspase3 protein expression in DMOG group significantly decreased than that in control group(p<0.01).Plasma IL-8 level was significantly higher in saline group than that in sham operation group. Conclusion HIF-1α activation can increase the expression of HIF-1α and HO-1 gene and attenuate ischemia-reperfusion injury.