Abstract:Hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) is a specific transcriptional factor sensitive to hypoxia condition, which is regulated by prolyl hydroxylase domain (PHDs) and von-Hippel-Lindau tumor suppressor protein (pVHL).In hypoxia condition, the activity of PHDs and pVHL is inhibited which is reported to downregulate the degradation of HIFs and increase the expression of HIFs. Increased HIFs paly an important role in the physiological and pathological processes of hypoxia-induced disease. In this review, we summarize the recent advances in the PHDs-HIFs-pVHL pathway in rheumatoid arthritis, hopefully providing a new insight into the pathogenesis and treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.