Objective To investigate the expression levels of interferon-inducible genes (IFIT1,IFIT4,OAS1,OASL,ISG15) in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus(SLE).and the relations between these genes expression levels and disease activity are explored.Methods Sybr green dye based real-time quantitative PCR method was used to detect the expression levels (indicated as-△△Ct value) of WIT1,IFIT4.OAS1,OASL and ISG15 in 76 patients with SJJE and 54 controls.Their expression levels were compared with erythroeyte sedimentation rate (ESR),serum C reactive protein (CRP),complement C3,C4.antinuclear antibody (ANA).anti-double stranded DNA antibody.The associations between the expression levels of IFIT1,IFIT4,OASI.OASL,ISG15,ESR,CRP,complement C3,C4,ANA,anti-double stranded DNA antibody and SLEDAI scores in patients with SLE were analyzed.Results ① The expression levels of WIT1,IFIT4,OAS1,OASL and ISG15 in the SLE patients were significantly higher than those of the normal controls (P＜0.01).The expression levels of IFIT1,IFIT4,OAS1,OASL and ISG15 in active SLE patients were higher than those of inactive SLE patients (P＜0.05).The real time expression levels of IFIT1,IFIT4,OAS1.OASL and ISG15 showed positive correlations with each other (r＞0.5,P＜0.05) in patients with SLE.② The expression levels of IFIT1,IFIT4,OAS1,OASL and ISG15 were positively correlated with the SLEDAI scores (r＞0.5,P＜0.05).③ There was no correlation between ESR,CRP,complement C3,C4,ANA and the expression levels of IFIT1,IFIT4,OAS1,OASL,ISG15,SLEDAI scores except anti-double stranded DNA antibody (r＞0.5.P＜0.05).Conclusion The expression levels of IFIT1,IFIT4,OAS1,OASL and ISG15 in patients with SLE are significantly higher than those of the normal controls,and positively associated with SLEDAI scores,so they are helpful in evaluating SLE disease activity and severity.IFIT1,IFIT4,OAS1,OASL and ISG15 genes may be the potential treating targets for SLE.