Abstract: Objective To study the relationship of T, B and NK lymphocytes with the pathogenesis of chronic urticaria. Methods Flow cytometry was applied to assess the proportion of T, B and NK lymphocyte subgroups in the peripheral blood of 51 patients with chronic urticaria and 30 sex and age-matched human controls. The CD4 ∶ CD8 ratio was calculated. Moreover, the symptoms, disease course and response to antihistamines of these patients were evaluated by one physician. Results The percentage of CD8+ T and NK cells, CD4:CD8 ratio were （27.20 ± 8.22）%, （21.20 ± 10.84）% and 1.48 ± 0.62, respectively, in these patients, （29.9 ± 3.74）%, （17.5 ± 3.56）%, 1.24 ± 0.27, respectively, in the controls; the differences were significant between the two groups （all P < 0.05）. Decreased levels of CD3+ T cells, CD8+ T cells and B cells were noted in patients resistant to antihistamines compared with those responsive to antihistamines ［（61.81 ± 11.70）% vs （75.74 ± 2.36）%, （24.00 ± 7.79）% vs （34.22 ± 9.30）%, （10.78 ± 2.07）% vs （15.25 ± 4.10）％, P < 0.05, 0.01, 0.05, respectively）］, while the CD4 ∶ CD8 ratio and percentage of NK cells were increased in antihistamine-resistant patients compared to those in antihistamine-sensitive patients ［1.67 ± 0.76 vs 1.17 ± 0.41, （28.61 ± 12.62）% vs （12.78 ± 6.02）%, both P < 0.01］. In these patients with chronic urticaria, the percentages of CD3+ T and CD8+ T cells were negatively correlated with the symptom scores （R = -0.31, -0.28, respectively, both P < 0.05）, while the percentage of B cells was positively correlated with the symptom scores and disease course （R = 0.53, 0.55, respectively, both P < 0.01）. Conclusions There is an abnormality in the proportion of T, B and NK lymphocyte subgroups in patients with chronic urticaria, which indicates that humoral immunity may be involved in the pathogenesis of chronic urticaria and the mechanism for responsiveness to antihistamine.