Antigen recognition, lymphocyte priming and effector responses in inflamed tissues depend on a coordinated and sequential series of events that take place in different anatomical compartments. The integration of these processes is favoured by the dynamic capacity of leukocytes to recirculate between the bloodstream and specific organs and to navigate inside the tissues in a programmed fashion, regulated by a complex interaction of cell adhesion molecules and soluble chemoattractants, in particular chemokines. In this review we discuss the role of chemokines and chemokine receptors in regulating leukocyte trafficking in different anatomical sites in the context of distinct functional phases of the immune/inflammatory response.