Objective To detect the expression of transferrin receptor 1 (TfR1) in laryngeal carcinoma, thyroid carcinoma, maxillary sinus carcinoma, and parotid carcinoma, exploring the relationship between the expression of the four cancers and their occurrence and progression. Methods A total of 24 specimens of head-neck carcinoma were collected in surgery from April 2015 to March 2017, including 8 cases of laryngeal carcinoma, 8 cases of thyroid carcinoma, 4 cases of maxillary sinus carcinoma, and 4 cases of parotid carcinoma. Fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction technique for TfR1 mRNA and western blot for TfR1 protein was performed in those tumor tissues and their adjacent normal tissues. Results The relative expression level of TfR1 mRNA in the tumor tissues of laryngeal carcinoma, thyroid carcinoma, maxillary sinus carcinoma, and parotid carcinoma was 0.078±0.002, 0.065±0.044, 0.076±0.014, 0.067±0.004, respectively; while the relative expression level of TfR1 mRNA in the adjacent normal tissues of the four cancers was 0.021±0.012, 0.011±0.007, 0.017±0.013, 0.028±0.007, respectively. The relative expression level of TfR1 protein in the tumor tissues of laryngeal carcinoma, thyroid carcinoma, maxillary sinus carcinoma, and parotid carcinoma was 0.668±0.206, 0.640±0.066, 0.452±0.095, 0.925±0.221, respectively; while the relative expression level of TfR1 protein in the adjacent normal tissues of the four cancers was 0.359±0.113, 0.424±0.096, 0.280±0.093, 0.519±0.037, respectively. The expression levels of TfR1 mRNA and TfR1 protein in the tumor tissues of the four cancers were all higher than those in their adjacent normal tissues (P<0.05). Conclusions The expression levels of TfR1 mRNA and TfR1 protein in the tumor tissues of laryngeal carcinoma, thyroid carcinoma, maxillary sinus carcinoma and parotid carcinoma are up-regulated. TfR1 may be involved in the occurrence and progression of the four cancers, and it may be responsible for tumor proliferation by providing necessary raw materials for the proliferation of tumor cells.