The results indicate that the yak hippocampus and cerebral cortex may be more resistant to hypoxia than thalamus, medulla oblongata and cerebellum, and the expression of BNIP3 and beclin-1 may be regulated by HIF1α to serve a neuroprotective role in the yak's brain to adaptation to hypoxia. Additionally, the brain of adult yaks may have a higher tolerance to hypoxia than the brain of newborn yaks.