The present study evaluated the effect of hypoxia on the expression of progranulin in HT22 mouse hippocampal cells. To investigate progranulin (PGRN) and the alterations in its expression following hypoxia, the HT22 cells were treated with various concentrations of sodium hydrosulfite (Na2S2O4; 1-20 mM) for a fixed time (6 h) or with a fixed concentration (5 mM) for different lengths of time (2-0 h). The expression of PGRN in the HT22 cells following hypoxia was analyzed by an immunocytochemistry assay and western blot analysis. The data revealed that the HT22 cells were capable of expressing PGRN. Double labeling results revealed that PGRN was able to co-localize with the neuronal markers, βIII-tubulin and doublecortin. Western blot analyses indicated that hypoxia was able to decrease the PGRN levels in a concentration-dependent manner at 6 h, although there was a marginal increase within a shorter period. The results of this study revealed that hypoxic injury is capable of significantly affecting the expression of PGRN, thereby it may provide novel insights with regard to the role of PGRN in ischemic brain injury.