Objective To explore the expression and clinical significance of suppressor of cytokine signaling 2 (SOCS2) and SOCS5 in children with Henoch-Schoenlein purpura (HSP) by detecting the levels of SOCS2 and SOCS5 mRNAs. Methods RT-PCR was used to detect the expressions of SOCS2 and SOCS5 mRNAs in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from children with HSP (HSP group, n = 36) and healthy children (control group,n = 17) respectively. Results The mRNA levels of SOCS2 and SOCS5 were up-regulated in the HSP group as compared with the control group (P < 0.05). The expression levels of SOCS2 mRNA and SOCS5 mRNA in the children with mixed type HSP were significantly higher than those in the children with simple type HSP, and the differences were statistically significant (P < 0.05). The expression levels of SOCS2 mRNA and SOCS5 mRNA had no difference in the gender of the HSP children (P > 0.05). Conclusions SOCS2 and SOCS5 may participate in the pathogenesis of HSP in children.