Background and Objectives Limited studies suggested that calprotectin may take part in the pathophysiology of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). Nevertheless, there is no clinical study to analyze the role of S100A8 in CAP patients. The objective of this study was to analyze the association of serum S100A8 with the severity of CAP based on a cross-sectional study. Methods Entire 200 CAP patients and 100 normal subjects were recruited. Demographic data, clinical information and serum were collected on admission. Serum S100A8 and inflammatory cytokines were detected. Results Serum S100A8 was increased in CAP patients on admission. Serum S100A8 was gradually increased in parallel with the CAP severity scores. Serum S100A8 was positively correlated with CAP severity scores (CURB-65, CRB-65, PSI, CURXO and SMART-COP), blood routine parameters (WBC, neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio and monocyte-lymphocyte ratio) and inflammatory cytokines (TNFα, IL-1β and CRP). Furtherly, univariate and multivariate logistical regression analysis revealed that there was a positive association between serum S100A8 with CRB-65, PSI and CURXO. Moreover, the predictive capacity of serum S100A8 was performed by receiver operating characteristic area under the curve (AUC) analysis. The AUCs of S100A8 for CAP and CAP severity were 0.855 and 0.893, respectively. Mechanistic analysis found that S100A8 knockdown alleviated streptococcus pneumoniae-evoked inflammatory cytokines in A549 cells. Conclusion Serum S100A8 on admission was positively associated with the severity of CAP. S100A8 knockdown alleviates streptococcus pneumoniae- evoked inflammatory cytokines in A549 cells, indicating that S100A8 may exert an important role in the pathophysiology of CAP and be an early serum diagnostic biomarker for CAP.