Iron and oxygen are essential for animal life. However, the way their metabolism is coordinated at the whole animal level is still an open question. This is important because dysregulated oxygen and iron metabolism can result in excessive formation of oxygen radicals that can cause tissue injury and death. Here, we explore this question using the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. We found that the conserved iron-cage protein ferritin 1 (ftn-1) is differentially expressed in the intestine during hypoxia and reoxygenation stress. Intriguingly, we show that ftn-1 expression is controlled by oxygen -sensory neuron signalling. Furthermore, our data suggest that hydroxylated HIF-1 inhibits ftn-1 expression, while non-hydroxylated HIF-1 has no function in ftn-1 regulation. Finally, we demonstrate that ftn-1 upregulation in hypoxia protects against Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria. Together, our studies provide novel insights into the way oxygen and iron responses are regulated at both the cellular and organismal level.