Scripting Reference
Switch to Component
GameObject.Find

static function Find (name : String) : GameObject

Description

Finds a game object by name and returns it.

If no game object with name can be found, null is returned. If name contains a '/' character it will traverse the hierarchy like a path name. This function only returns active gameobjects.

For performance reasons it is recommended to not use this function every frame Instead cache the result in a member variable at startup or use GameObject.FindWithTag.

JavaScript 
var hand : GameObject;
// This will return the game object named Hand in the scene.
hand = GameObject.Find("Hand");

// This will return the game object named Hand.
// Hand must not have a parent in the hierarchy view!
hand = GameObject.Find("/Hand");

// This will return the game object named Hand,
// which is a child of Arm -> Monster.
// Monster must not have a parent in the hierarchy view!
hand = GameObject.Find("/Monster/Arm/Hand");

// This will return the game object named Hand,
// which is a child of Arm -> Monster.
// Monster may have a parent.
hand = GameObject.Find("Monster/Arm/Hand");

using UnityEngine;
using System.Collections;

public class example : MonoBehaviour {
    public GameObject hand;
    void Example() {
        hand = GameObject.Find("Hand");
        hand = GameObject.Find("/Hand");
        hand = GameObject.Find("/Monster/Arm/Hand");
        hand = GameObject.Find("Monster/Arm/Hand");
    }
}
import UnityEngine
import System.Collections

class example(MonoBehaviour):

    public hand as GameObject

    def Example():
        hand = GameObject.Find('Hand')
        hand = GameObject.Find('/Hand')
        hand = GameObject.Find('/Monster/Arm/Hand')
        hand = GameObject.Find('Monster/Arm/Hand')
This function is most useful to automatically connect references to other objects at load time, eg. inside MonoBehaviour.Awake or MonoBehaviour.Start. You should avoid calling this function every frame eg. MonoBehaviour.Update for performance reasons. A common pattern is to assign a game object to a variable inside MonoBehaviour.Start. And use the variable in MonoBehaviour.Update.
JavaScript 
// Find the hand inside Start and rotate it every frame
private var hand : GameObject;
function Start () {
    hand = GameObject.Find("/Monster/Arm/Hand");
}

function Update () {
    hand.transform.Rotate(0, 100 * Time.deltaTime, 0);
}
using UnityEngine;
using System.Collections;

public class example : MonoBehaviour {
    private GameObject hand;
    void Start() {
        hand = GameObject.Find("/Monster/Arm/Hand");
    }
    void Update() {
        hand.transform.Rotate(0, 100 * Time.deltaTime, 0);
    }
}
import UnityEngine
import System.Collections

class example(MonoBehaviour):

    private hand as GameObject

    def Start():
        hand = GameObject.Find('/Monster/Arm/Hand')

    def Update():
        hand.transform.Rotate(0, (100 * Time.deltaTime), 0)