Acquisition and maintenance of NK cell function is mediated by inhibitory killer-cell immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIR) through the interaction with HLA class I molecules. Recently, HLA-C expression levels were shown to be correlated with protection against multiple outcomes of HIV-1 infection; however the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. As HLA-C is the natural ligand for the inhibitory receptors KIR2DL1 and KIR2DL2/3, we sought to determine whether HLA-C group haplotypes affect NK cell responses during primary HIV-1 infection. The phenotypes and functional capacity of NK cells derived from HIV-1(+) and HIV-1(-) individuals were assessed (N=42 and N=40, respectively). HIV-1 infection was associated with an increased frequency of KIR2DL1-3+ NK cells. Further analysis showed that KIR2DL1+ NK cells were selectively increased in individuals homozygous for HLA-C2, while HLA-C1-homozygous individuals displayed increased proportions of KIR2DL2/3+ NK cells. KIR2DL1-3+ NK cells were furthermore more polyfunctional during primary HIV-1 infection in individuals also encoding for their cognate HLA-C group haplotypes as measured by degranulation and cytokine production. These results identify a novel relationship between HLA-C and KIR2DL+ NK cell subsets and demonstrate that HLA-C-mediated licensing modulates NK cell responses to primary HIV-1 infection.