Inflammatory cell recruitment into the central nervous system (CNS) is a critical step in the response to diverse insults, including infection, trauma and infarction, as well as immune‐mediated disorders such as multiple sclerosis (MS). Despite considerable advances in understanding immune surveillance and antigen recognition in the CNS, the signals resulting in parenchymal inflammation are incompletely understood. Members of a novel family of chemo‐attractant cytokines, the chemokines, are made in the CNS and are emerging as likely mediators of inflammatory cell migration into the CNS.