Dendritic cells (DC) are uniquely specialised for both antigen acquisition and presentation, linking innate and adaptive immunity. Great progress has been made in DC biology and function recently. In the field of schistosomiasis, studies have revealed that a DC phenotype is quite distinct to that of conventional activation. Understanding the interaction between schistosomes and DC is therefore not only addressing fundamental questions of DC biology and immunity to multicellular parasites but also opening the way to therapeutic manipulation of the immune system.