To investigate the effects of albumin on the production of matrix metalloproteinases-2 (MMP-2) and matrix metalloproteinases-9 (MMP-9) in podocytes. Podocytes were treated with bovine serum albumin (BSA) at the concentration of 0.1, 0.5, 1, 2 g/L, respectively. Conditioned media were harvested 12, 24, 48 and 72 h after the treatment. The expression of MMP-2 and MMP-9 was assayed by gelatin zymography, RT-PCR and Western blotting analysis. Our results showed that in comparison with the control group, BSA increased the expression of MMP-2 and MMP-9 mRNA and protein in a dose- and time-dependent manner (P<0.05). Meanwhile, the enzymatic activities of MMP-2 and MMP-9 in the culture supernatants of podocytes were also increased (P<0.05). It is concluded that albumin up-regulated the expression of MMP-2 and MMP-9 at gene and protein levels in a time- and dose-dependent manner.