OBJECTIVE: To assess the clinical significance of the changes of cardiac troponin I (cTnl) in Kawasaki disease (KD) before and after the treatment with intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIG). METHODS: Concentrations of serum cTnl, Creatine kinase (CK), Lactic dehydrogenase (LDH) and Glutamic oxalacetic transaminase (GOT) were measured in the KD group (n=58) before and after the treatment with IVIG and in the control group (n=23). RESULTS: ① There was no significant difference in serum CK, LDH and GOT concentrations between the KD group and the control group (P>0.05). There was significant difference in the serum concentrations of cTnl between the two groups ［(0.62±1.08) μg/L vs (0.06±0.06) μg/L］( P<0.01). ② There was significant difference in cTnl before and after the treatment with IVIG ［(0.62±1.08) μg/L vs (0.08±0.15) μg/L］(P<0.01). But no significant difference was found in CK, LDH and GOT before and after the treatment with IVIG (P>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The measurement of cTnl may be a useful serologic test for the early diagnosis of myocarditis or myocardial cell injury. Early IVIG therapy can prevent cardiovascular pathology in KD patients and cTnl can be used as an index to evaluate the effect of the treatment with IVIG.