Pro-inflammatory chemokines are important mediators of inflammation and autoimmune injury. The spatial and temporal expression of chemokines and chemokine receptors in the nephritic kidney suggests that targeting the chemokine system may represent a valuable approach for anti-inflammatory therapy of lupus nephritis. In this review we summarize the available data on the pathogenic role of chemokines and chemokine receptors in lupus nephritis and particularly focus on epidemiological data in lupus patients and interventional studies with chemokine or chemokine receptor antagonists in experimental lupus.