Background: Recent evidence demonstrated that the circulating concentrations of adipokine are related to the presence of heart failure secondary to ischemic heart disease and dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). However, the plasma concentrations of chemerin in patients with DCM have yet to be investigated. Methods: The present study enrolled 109 DCM patients with typical symptoms of heart failure and 60 healthy controls and measured plasma concentrations of chemerin, IL-6 and TNF-alpha using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Left ventricular end-diastolic diameter (LVEDD) and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) were measured using a GE ViVid E7 ultrasonography machine. Results: Plasma chemerin, IL-6 and TNF-alpha concentrations were significantly higher in DCM patients compared to the control group. A correlation analysis revealed that plasma chemerin concentrations were positively correlated with the concentrations of IL-6 (R = 0.270, P = 0.004), TNF-alpha (R = 0.302, P = 0.001), C-reactive protein (CRP) (R = 0.256, P = 0.004), N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) (R = 0386, P = 0.000), and LVEDD (R = 0212, P = 0.027) but negatively correlated with LVEF (R = 0.543, P = 0.000). Furthermore, chemerin (OR 1.102,95% CI 1.052 to 1.153; p = 0.000) was independently associated with the presence of DCM before NT-proBNP was added in the multivariable regression model. Conclusions: The results indicate that chemerin is a novel biomarker of DCM. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.