Hypoxia induced‐factor 1α(HIF‐1α) is a critical transcription factor involved in oxygen homeostasis which regulates a variety of cellular adaptive responses to hypoxia ,including angiogenesis , metabolism ,and apoptosis .In obesity ,adipose tissue dysfunction coupled with insulin resistance results in local hypoxia and angiogenesis disorders .Similarly ,type 2 diabetes (T2DM ) may present with chronic hypoxia ,inhibition of HIF‐1αproduction ,down‐regulation of angiogenesis factors ,and eventually cause a variety of vascular complications .Meanwhile ,the abnormal expression of microRNAs could affect the expression and function of HIF‐1α.HIF‐1α plays a very important role in angiogenesis ,wound healing , and so on .HIF‐1αhas been shown to improve angiogenesis by binding to a hypoxia‐response element and to regulate the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) .This review aims to summarize the advance on HIF‐1αand its impact on angiogenesis in diabetes .