Hematopoietic cell differentiation is regulated by various lineage-specific transcription factors. In the context of erythroid differentiation, the importance of GATA-1 has been unequivocally demonstrated by cell-based ex vivo assays, as well as knockout mouse models and rare patients with anemias. GATA-1 regulates the expression of erythroid-related genes, such as globins and genes involved in heme biosynthesis, by recognizing the DNA binding consensus sequence [(A/T) GATA (A/G)] through dual zinc finger motifs. GATA-1 forms a complex with the basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor SCL/TAL1, another master regulator of hematopoiesis. SCL/TAL1 forms a complex containing LMO2, LDB1, and ETO2, which are all required for GATA-1 activity during the erythroid differentiation. Here we focus on the current understanding of transcriptional regulation of erythropoiesis.