Aim To explore the serum levels of interleukin-1 (IL-1) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) in patients with chronic heart failure accompanied with renal damage and its clinical significance. Methods 220 New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class Ⅱ~Ⅳ patients with chronic heart failure were enrolled in this study. Serum levels of blood urea nitrogen (BUN), serum creatinine (SCr), N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide(NT-proBNP), IL-1 and IL-6 were detected, microalbuminuria (MAU) was detected randomly, left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) was measured by echocardiography, glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was calculated. The levels of IL-1, IL-6, NT-proBNP, MAU and eGFR in different cardiac function groups were compared and the levels of IL-1 and IL-6 in different renal function groups were compared. The relationship between IL-1, IL-6 and NYHA functional classification, NT-proBNP, LVEF, eGFR and MAU were analysed. Results The serum levels of IL-1, IL-6, NT-proBNP and MAU in NYHAⅢ～Ⅳ groups were higher than NYHA Ⅱgroup (P＜0.05), the eGFR of NYHAⅢ～Ⅳ groups were lower than NYHA Ⅱgroup (P＜0.05), and the levels of IL-1, IL-6, NT-proBNP and MAU in NYHA Ⅳ group were higher than NYHA Ⅲ group (P＜0.05). In NYHA functional class Ⅲ～Ⅳ patients the serum levels of IL-1, IL-6, NT-proBNP and MAU in 30%≤EF≤50% group were higher than EF＞50%group (P＜0.05), the eGFR of 30%≤EF≤50% group were lower than EF＞50% group (P＜0.05), the serum levels of IL-1, IL-6, NT-proBNP and MAU in EF＜30% group were higher than 30%≤EF≤50% group (P＜0.05). In NYHA functional class Ⅲ～Ⅳpatients the serum levels of IL-1, IL-6 in renal dysfunction group [eGFR＜60 mL/(min.1.73m²)] were higher than normal renal function group [eGFR≥60 mL/(min.1.73m²)](P＜0.05). The serum levels of IL-1, IL-6 and eGFR had no obvious difference in different basic etiologies groups (P＞0.05). The serum levels of IL-1 and IL-6 were positively correlated with the NYHA functional classification, MAU and NT-proBNP (P＜0.05), negatively correlated with LVEF and eGFR (P＜0.05). Conclusion The serum levels of IL-1 and IL-6 are elevated in patients with chronic heart failure and correlated with the severity of chronic heart failure and renal damage, and detecting IL-1, IL-6 may provide some assistances for assessing the severity of heart failure in clinical.