The transcription factor hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α) is regulated by oxygen availability as well as various inflammatory mediators, including tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα). Early work suggested that the phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K) and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathways are involved in TNFα-mediated HIF-1α accumulation and activation under normoxic conditions. Here, we provide evidence showing that IκB kinase β (IKKβ) is required for HIF-1α regulation by TNFα. We found that TNFα enhances HIF-1α protein expression in various breast cancer cell lines under either normoxic or hypoxia-mimicking conditions, but has little effect on the HIF-1α mRNA level. Increased HIF-1α expression was found in IKKβ stable clones and transient transfectants, and depletion of IKKβ consistently reduced the amount of HIF-1α protein. Treatment of cells with the IKKβ inhibitor Bay 11-7082 reduced the TNFα-induced HIF-1α expression, suggesting that IKKβ is required in this signaling pathway. Decreased expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), a direct target of HIF-1α, was shown in IKKβ-knockout mouse embryonic fibroblast cells. We further demonstrated a positive correlation between IKKβ and VEGF expression in primary human breast cancer specimens. Our findings indicate that TNFα-induced HIF-1α accumulation is IKKβ dependent, and may enable further understanding of the HIF-1α regulation by inflammatory signals.