The prognostic significance of hypoxia inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) expression in tumors and the levels of preoperative hemoglobin in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC), with or without concomitant chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), was investigated. A total of 128 patients with ccRCC who underwent surgery were analyzed using retrospective methods. Overall survival (OS) and progression free survival (PFS) were analyzed with clinicopathological variables, including preoperative hemoglobin levels, COPD and the levels of HIF‑1α expression, by Kaplan‑Meier survival analysis. Levels of HIF‑1α expression were detected by immunohistochemistry and the multivariate analysis was performed by proportional hazards regression. High levels of HIF‑1α expression were associated with a higher pathological stage and histological grade in patients with ccRCC (P<0.05). The median OS and PFS of patients with concomitant COPD were shorter compared with patients without COPD (P<0.05). The levels of serum hemoglobin, HIF‑1α expression and COPD diagnosis were all identified as independent prognostic variables for the OS and PFS of patients with ccRCC.