To explore the functional significance of HIF-1α in the inhibitory effects of miR-338-3p on HCC tumorigenesis, we overexpressed HIF-1α in miR-338-3p-transfected HepG2 cells and determined whether HIF-1α can reverse miR-338-3p-mediated regulation of cell viability and apoptosis using western blot, MTT assay and flow cytometry. The gene discussed is HIF1A; the disease is hepatocellular carcinoma.