Hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy(HIE)has the characteristics of high incidence,high morbidity and high mor-tality,and is the most common type of disease of the central nervous system,specifically referring to a clinical syndrome of brain damage caused by acute cerebral hypoxia and a series of neurological symptoms caused by it.Patients usually have neurological sequelae such as epilepsy,cerebral palsy,and behavioral disorders.Hypoxia inducible factor(HIF)is a compo-nent of the endogenous oxygen sensing system belonging to heterodimeric transcription factors,which are composed of O2-sensitive α subunits and constitutively expressed β subunits,and participate in the detection and adaptation of cellular oxygen stress responses by regulating angiogenesis,erythropoiesis,and hypoxic transcription processes in metabolism.Based on the activation of the HIF signaling pathway,many studies have focused on the development of selective small molecule drugs to treat HIE.This review summarizes the molecular basis of HIF and the specific mechanism of HIF-related signaling pathway activation in HIE,and introduces the potential therapeutic applications of related novel small molecule inhibitors and Chinese herbs compounds in HIE,so as to provide new ideas for the treatment of HIE.