Update publication information. Hypoxia is a physiological stress that frequently occurs in solid tissues. Autophagy, a ubiquitous degradation/recycling system in eukaryotic cells, renders cells tolerant to multiple stressors. However, the mechanisms underlying autophagy initiation upon hypoxia remains unclear. This study identifies an oxygen-sensitive methylation of ULK1 with an important role in hypoxic stress adaptation by promoting autophagy induction.