Chemokines are important mediators in immune responses and inflammatory processes of neuroimmunologic and infectious diseases. Although chemokines are expressed predominantly by cells of the immune system, neurons also express chemokines and chemokine receptors. We report herein that human neuronal cells (NT2‐N) produce macrophage inflammatory protein‐1α and ‐1β (MIP‐1α and MIP‐1β), which could be enhanced by interleukin (IL)‐1β at both mRNA and protein levels. The addition of supernatants from human peripheral blood monocyte‐derived macrophage (MDM) cultures induced MIP‐1β mRNA expression in NT2‐N cells. Anti‐IL‐1β antibody removed most, but not all, of the MDM culture supernatant‐induced MIP‐1β mRNA expression in NT2‐N cells, suggesting that IL‐1β in the MDM culture supernatants is a major factor in the induction of MIP‐1β expression. Investigation of the mechanism(s) responsible for IL‐1β‐induced MIP‐1α and ‐1β expression demonstrated that IL‐1β activated nuclear factor kappa B (NF‐κB) promoter‐directed luciferase activity in NT2‐N cells. Caffeic acid phenethyl ester, a potent and specific inhibitor of activation of NF‐κB, not only blocked IL‐1β‐induced activation of the NF‐κB promoter but also decreased IL‐1β‐induced MIP‐1α and ‐1β expression in NT2‐N cells. These data suggest that NF‐κB is at least partially involved in the IL‐1β‐mediated action on MIP‐1α and ‐1β in NT2‐N cells. IL‐1β‐mediated up‐regulation of β‐chemokine expression may have important implications in the immunopathogenesis of inflammatory diseases in the CNS.