Abstract: The kidney transplantation is one of the best treatments for end stage kidney disease, the benefits are limited by factors such as the short fall in donor numbers, immunosuppression burden and graft failure. The complement activation occurs at many stages during transplantation, begins in the donor and occurs again on reperfusion following a period of ischemia. Complement activation can contribute to the development of the alloimmune response and may directly contribute to graft injury during acute and chronic allograft rejection. The article aims to summarize the recent progress of complement activation in kidney transplantation, in order to better intervene the graft injury in different stages of transplantation, and the survival rate of graft can be improved.

Key words: kidney transplantation, complement, ischemia reperfusion injury, antibody-mediated rejection, T cell-mediated rejection