【Abstract】Objective To analyze the expression and clinical significance of IL8 in peripheral blood in patients with gouty arthritis (GA). Methods The peripheral blood were collected from 43 patients with acute gouty arthritis (AGA), 43 patients with nonacute gouty arthritis (NAGA) and 43 healthy controls (HC). The expression levels of IL8 mRNA and protein in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were detected by realtime fluorescent quantitative polymerase chain reaction and Western blot. The protien expressions of IL8 were measured by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in plasma. Results The expression of IL8 mRNA in PBMCs of the AGA group was significantly higher than that of the IGA and HC groups (all P＜0.01), and IGA group higher than HC groups (P＜0.01). Compared with IGA and HC groups, the protein expression of IL8 significantly increased in PBMCs of the AGA group, and the HC group was the lowest.There were no statistical differences between IGA and HC groups. The expression of IL8 was significantly higher in plasma of the AGA group compared with the IGA and HC groups (all P＜0.01), and IGA group significantly higher than HC groups (P＜0.05).Conclusion The expression of IL8 changes significantly in GA patients in comparison with HC, which implies that IL8 may have an important role in progression of GA.