Accumulating evidence has shown that hypoxia modulates the expression of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs)[12] and garner increasing attention for their involvement in cancer development.[13, 14] Several lncRNAs, including STEAP3‐AS1, LUCAT1 and lincRNA‐p21, have been identified as being activated by HIF‐1α, thus contributing to tumor progression.[15, 16, 17] Nevertheless, there is currently a lack of characterization for specific lncRNA that responds to hypoxia in facilitating ESCC development. Here, HIF1A is linked to esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.