The expression of transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-beta1) in placental tissue of pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH) and the relationship between the level of expression of TGF-beta1 and the amount of vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) in serum was studied. Immunohistochemistry ABC was used to detect the expression and distribution of TGF-beta1 in placental tissues in 40 PIH women and 20 normal pregnancy women. High resolution pathological image analysis system was used to determine the quality of TGF-beta1. The VCAM-1 in serum was examined by enzyme linked immunoabsorbent assay (ELISA). The results showed that TGF-beta1 could be express in syncytiotrophoblast. The levels of TGF-beta1 expression in placental tissues of the patients with moderate and severe PIH were significantly higher (P < 0.05), while the serum VCAM-1 was significantly lower than in normal group (P < 0.01). There was a significant positive correlation between the expression of TGF-beta1 in placental tissues and the serum VCAM-1 (r = 0.969, P < 0.01). It was concluded that the level of TGF-beta1 expression in PIH was increased and was positively correlated with the amount of serum VCAM-1, indicating that they might be involved in the pathogenesis of PIH.