To express the proportion "5 is to 1 as 20 is to 4" in fractional notation, we can write it as:
\[ \frac{5}{1} = \frac{20}{4} \]
Thus, the correct option that aligns with this expression is:
\[ \frac{5}{1} = \frac{20}{4} \]
This is the way to represent the proportional relationship in fractional notation.