Nuclear extracts from Drosophila SL2 cells were found to contain a hypoxically inducible complex capable of binding to hypoxia response elements from mammalian genes. This complex (HIF‐D) resembled mammalian hypoxia inducible factor (HIF‐1) in DNA sequence specificity, abrogation of induction by cycloheximide, induction by desferrioxamine and redox sensitivity of DNA binding. However, HIF‐D was not induced by cobalt and was less sensitive to phosphatase than HIF‐1. Endogenous phosphoglycerate kinase mRNA in SL2 cells showed similar inducible characteristics to HIF‐D. These findings are evidence that the mammalian HIF‐1 dependent system of oxygen regulated gene expression has a functional homologue in Drosophila.