HashQuery, a Hash-area-based data dissemination protocol, was designed in wireless sensor networks. Using a Hash function which uses time as the key, both mobile sinks and sensors can determine the same Hash area. The sensors can send the information about the events that they monitor to the Hash area and the mobile sinks need only to query that area instead of flooding among the whole network, and thus much energy can be saved. In addition, the location of the Hash area changes over time so as to balance the energy consumption in the whole network. Theoretical analysis shows that the proposed protocol can be energy-efficient and simulation studies further show that when there are 5 sources and 5 sinks in the network, it can save at least 50% energy compared with the existing two-tier data dissemination(TTDD) protocol, especially in large-scale wireless sensor networks. © 2008 Central South University Press and Springer-Verlag GmbH.