Chronic spinal cord lesions (CSCL) which result in irreversible neurologic deficits remain one of the most devastating clinical problems.Its pathophysiological mechanism has not been fully clarified.As a crucial factor in the outcomes following traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI),the blood-spinal cord barrier (BSCB) disruption is considered as an important pathogenic factor contributing to the neurologic impairment in SCI.Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a multirole element in the spinal cord vascular event.On one hand,VEGF administrations can result in rise of BSCB permeability in acute or sub-acute periods and even last for chronic process.On the other hand,VEGF is regarded to be correlated with angiogenesis,neurogenesis and improvement of locomotor ability.Hypoxia inducible factor-1 (HIF-1) is a primary regulator of VEGF during hypoxic conditions.Therefore,hypoxia-mediated up-regulation of VEGF may play multiple roles in the BSCB disruption and react on functional restoration of CSCL,The purpose of this article is to further explore the relationship among HIF-1,hypoxia-mediated VEGF and BSCB dysfunction,and investigate the roles of these elements on CSCL.