Abstract: Objective　To investigate the clinical significance of urinary neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) in kidney damage of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients. Methods　The urine of 124 SLE patients and 30 healthy subjects were collected. The urinary microalbumin (Alb) was detected by rate nephelometry. According to the results of Alb, the SLE patients were classified into 3 groups (Group A, B and C). The 30 healthy subjects were as the control group. The NGAL was detected by enzyme immunoassay quantitatively. Results　The urinary NGAL in Group A, B and C of SLE patients and control group were 3.51±0.49, 5.48±0.98, 7.89±1.71 and 3.37±0.31 μg/L. There was no statistical significance of urinary NGAL between Group A(Alb<30mg/L) and control group（P>0.05）. There was statistical significance of urinary NGAL between Group B (Alb: 30-100 mg/L) and control group（P<0.01）. There was statistical significance of urinary NGAL between Group C (Alb: 100-500 mg/L) and control group（P<0.01）. There was statistical significance of urinary NGAL among Group A, B and C（P<0.05）.The positive correlation about the Albu and urinary NGAL was 0.84 in SLE patients. Conclusions　Urinary NGAL increases when Alb rises，and urinary NGAL can be used to judge SLE patients with tubular interstitial function damage.

Key words: Urinary neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin, Systemic lupus erythematosus, Urinary microalbumin