Although MIP-1α is an important chemokine in the recruitment of inflammatory cells, it remains unknown whether MIP-1α plays any role in the development of systemic inflammatory response following trauma-hemorrhage (T-H). C57BL/6J wild type (WT) and MIP-1α-deficient (KO) mice were used either as control, subjected to sham operation (cannulation or laparotomy only or cannulation plus laparotomy) or T-H (midline laparotomy, mean blood pressure 35 ± 5 mmHg for 90 min, followed by resuscitation) and sacrificed 2 h thereafter. A marked increase in serum α-glutathione transferase, TNF-α, IL-6, IL-10, MCP-1, and MIP-1α and Kupffer cell cytokine production was observed in WT T-H mice compared with shams or control. In addition lung and liver tissue edema and neutrophil infiltration (myeloperoxidase (MPO) content) was also increased following T-H in WT animals. These inflammatory markers were markedly attenuated in the MIP-1α KO mice following T-H. Furthermore, compared with 2 h, MPO activities at 24 and 48 h after T-H declined steadily in both WT and KO mice. However, normalization of MPO activities to sham levels within 24 h was seen in KO mice but not in WT mice. Thus, MIP-1α plays an important role in mediating the acute inflammatory response following T-H. In the absence of MIP-1α, acute inflammatory responses were attenuated; rapidly recovered and less remote organ injury was noted following T-H. Thus, interventions that reduce MIP-1α levels following T-H should be useful in decreasing the deleterious inflammatory consequence of trauma.