Objective　To evaluate the clinical value of detection of urinary interleukin-8（IL-8） in patients with lupus nephritis （LN）.Methods　Urinary levels of IL-8 were determined by using sandwich ELISA in 38 LN patients.Results　In the LN patients during the　stage　of　normal renal function and diminished renal reserve stage， urinary levels of IL-8 were significantly higher than those in healthy controls（P＜0.001），and urinary levels of IL-8 in the patients during diminished renal reserve stage were significantly higher than those in the patients during normal renal function stage（P＜0.01）.High IL-8 levels in LN patients were associated with high levels of erythrocyte sedimentation rate and lower levels of C3 complement components. Urinary levels of IL-8 in LN patients with microscopic leukocyturia were significantly higher than those without microscopic leukocyturia. In LN patients treated with cyclophosphamide （CTX） and prednisone， urinary IL-8 levels of post-treatment were significantly lower than those of pre-treatment（P＜0.01）. Conclusions 　Urinary levels of IL-8 may be a useful indicator for monitoring disease activity and degree of renal damage in LN. The mechanism of noninfective leukocyturia may be associated with the elevation of urinary IL-8 levels in LN. CTX and prednisone may have a significant effect on inhibiting the production of IL-8 in the immunocytes and renal intrinsic cells.