AIM: To observe the changes in the red blood cell immune function (RBC-C3bRR, RBC-ICR) and serum soluble IL-2 receptor (IL-2R), tumor necrosis factor α(TNFα), IL-6, IL-8 in 40 patients with clinically confirmed amoebic liver abscess. METHODS: By sandwich ELISA and flow cytometry. RESULTS: Levels of IL-2R (672.48±291.52, U/ml), TNFα(0.874±0.452, ng/ml), IL-6 (0.198±0.021, ng/ml), IL-8 (0.648±0.075, ng/ml) in patients with amoebic liver abscess were significantly higher than those of healthy subject s, while RBC-C3bRR were significantly lower than that of healthy subjects . There was a negative correlation between the levels of IL-2R and RBC-C3bRR. The CD4/CD8 cell ratio (0.74±0.30) was markedly declined in peripheral blood of patients in comparison with healthy subjects (2.12) as detected by flow cytometry. CONCLUSION: The immune responses of both red blood cells and T cells were considerably suppressed in patients with amoebic liver abscess.