OBJECTIVE: To explore the role of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) in immune response to urogenital chlamydial infection and urogenital pathology in mice. METHODS: Fifteen female wild-type (WT) C57BL/6J mice and 15 TNF-α receptor knockout (TNF-αR KO) mice were inoculated intravaginally with 1×10 inclusion forming units (IFUs) of live . At 56 days after the first inoculation, 8 mice from each group were subjected to a second inoculation at the same dose. Vaginal swabs were taken every 3 or 4 days to detect the number of inclusion bodies of chlamydia. On day 80 after the first inoculation, the mice were euthanized and peritoneal macrophages were collected and the vaginal tract and spleen were dissected. The pathologies in the fallopian tube and the uterine horn were observed and the severity of inflammatory cell infiltration and lumen dilatation were semi-quantitatively scored. The levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6), IL-8, IL-1α, IL-1β and TNF-α in the supernatant of the peritoneal macrophage were detected. Spleen cell suspension was prepared, and after stimulation with chlamydia EB , the levels of the cytokines including IL-4, IL-5, IL-17 and interferon-γ (IFN-γ) were determined in the cells. RESULTS: The clearance rate of from the urogenital tract was similar between TNF-αR KO mice and WT mice regardless of the primary or second infection. The severity of inflammation in the fallopian tube and the uterine horn did not differ significantly between the two groups, but TNF-αR KO mice had significantly milder dilation of the fallopian tubes ( < 0.05). The peritoneal macrophages from TNF-αR KO mice produced a significantly higher level of TNF-α than those from WT mice ( < 0.05); the spleen cells from the two groups both produced high levels of IFN-γ, but IL-17 production by the spleen cells was significantly lower in TNF-αR KO mice than in WT mice ( < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: TNF-α is not associated with protective immune response against infection, and can worsen the inflammatory damages of the urogenital tract caused by in mice.