Objective:To observe the effect of silencing hypoxia inducible factor-1α(HIF-1α)gene by RNA interference on the proliferation,apoptosis and invasiveness of SGC-7901 cells and to study the molecular mechanism related to these biological changes. Methods:The recombinant plasmid pGCsi-shHIF-1α was transfected into gastric cancer cells SGC-7901 by LipofectamineTM 2000. Then the expressions of HIF-1α in SGC-7901 cells were detected by RT-PCR and Western blot,and the expression of Glut-1,MMP2 and CXCR4 were detected by Western blot. The cell proliferation was detected by MTT assay,and the cell apoptosis was tested by flow cytometry,and the migration and invasiveness of transfected cells were assayed using transwell chambers. Results:After SGC-7901 cells were stably transfected with pGCsi-shHIF-1α,the expression of the mRNA and protein of HIF-1α were inhibited significantly. The expression of Glut-1,MMP-2 and CXCR4 were significantly supressed after HIF-1α silenced by RNA interference. MTT assay showed the proliferation of the pGCsi-shHIF-1α transfected cells was slower than that of empty vector transfected cells. The apoptotic ratio of transfected cells was also higher than that of controls. The migration and invasiveness of the cells transfected with pGCsi-shHIF-1α were significantly suppressed compared with the cells transfected with empty vector. Conclusion:It was showed that the recombinant plasmid pGCsi-shHIF-1α could inhibit the genetic expression of HIF-1α,and inhibit the proliferation,migration and invasiveness,but induce the apoptosis of gastric cancer cells SGC-7901. The results indicated that inhibiting HIF-1α could suppress invasion and migration,and delay tumor growth by down-regulating Glut-1,MMP-2 and CXCR4.