Asthma is a disease characterized by chronic airway inflammation. Many inflammatory cells and molecules contribute to its pathogenesis. Soluble tumor necrosis factor receptors (sTNFRs) and soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1) play regulatory roles in the inflammation. But their roles in the inflammation of asthma have not been well defined. This study was done to examine the changes in serum levels of these molecules in acute asthmatic patients. The concentrations of eosinophilic cationic protein (ECP), sTNF-RI, sTNF-RII, and sICAM-1 were measured in sera of 24 asthmatic patients during acute attack, in 18 patients at 24 h, and in 10 patients at 7 days after attack and in sera of 14 healthy control subjects by ELISA method. Serum levels of ECP, sTNF-RI, sTNF-RII and sICAM-1 in the patients with asthma during attack were significantly higher than those of the controls (p < 0.001, p < 0.01, p < 0.05, p < 0.05 respectively) and stayed high up to the 7th day. In conclusion, high serum levels of sTNF-RI, sTNF-RII and sICAM-1 suggest that these molecules may contribute to the regulation of allergic inflammation and may reflect the severity of inflammation in the airway of asthmatic patients.