In a matched pair study, we investigated the serum levels of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1), platelet endothelial cell adhesion moleculae-1 (PECAM-1) and P-selectin in 40 nulliparous patients with pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH) and in 40 normotensive pregnant controls by using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Multivariate logistic regression models were used to analyze the influence of elevated serum levels of adhesion molecules on the occurrence of PIH and on the association with the severe form of the disease. The median serum levels of ICAM-1, VCAM-1 and PECAM-1 were significantly elevated in women with PIH compared to controls (296 and 222 ng/ml, p = 0.003, 633 and 505 ng/ml, p = 0.02 and 7.7 and 6.6 ng/ml, p < 0.0001, respectively), whereas the differences of the median serum levels of P-selectin were not significantly between groups. In a multivariate logistic regression model, the serum levels of ICAM-1 and PECAM-1 revealed a significant influence on the occurrence of PIH versus healthy pregnant women (p = 0.04 and p = 0.006, respectively), whereas VCAM-1 and P-selectin serum levels were not associated with the occurrence of pregnancy-induced hypertension (p = 0.3 and p = 0.2, respectively). In a multivariate logistic regression model, the serum levels of PECAM-1 were associated with severe disease (p = 0.002). Our data indicate that the expression of ICAM-1 and PECAM-1 is upregulated in patients with pregnancy-induced hypertension. Elevated serum levels of PECAM-1 were associated with the development of severe disease.