Abstract: Objective：To investigate the impact of concurrent hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection on serum cytokine levels in patients with diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and its clinical significance. Methods：Seventyseven DLBCL patients who were admitted into the Hematology Department of Zhongshan Hospital from September 2013 to April 2014 were selected. The serum levels of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), soluble interleukin-2 receptor (sIL-2r), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and IL-10 in DLBCL patients were tested before initial chemotherapy and after complete remission. Twenty age matched healthy subjects who underwent routine physical examination were included as the control. The serum levels of these cytokines in HBsAg positive and negative DLBCL patients were compared, and their clinical significance was further analyzed. Results：Compared with the healthy group, the serum levels of TNF-α, sIL-2r and IL-6 were significantly elevated in DLBCL patients (all P<0.05). The serum levels of TNF-α and sIL-2r in DLBCL patients in the remission group were significantly decreased (both P<0.05), but were still significantly higher than those in the healthy control group (both P<0.05). There was no significant difference in serum levels of TNF-α, sIL-2r and IL-6 between HBsAg positive and negative patients before the initial chemotherapy〖BP(〗 (all P>0.05)〖BP)〗. Of patients in the remission group, HBsAg positive patients had higher serum level of sIL-2r as compared with the HBsAg negative patients (P<0.05). Conclusions：The serum levels of TNF-α, sIL-2r and IL-6 were elevated in patients diagnosed with DLBCL, and the serum levels of TNF-α and sIL-2r were associated with disease remission. Higher serum sIL-2r level in HBsAg positive DLBCL patients after complete remission may help to explain their inferior outcome, which needs further study.