High level expression of recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (rhG-CSF) in Escherichia coli (E. coli) usually forms insoluble and inactive aggregates, i.e. inclusion bodies. In the present work, high performance hydrophobic interaction chromatography (HPHIC) was applied to the refolding of rhG-CSF, which was solubilized by 8.0 mol L-1 urea from the inclusion bodies. First a laboratorial scale column (10 mm x 20 mm I.D.) was employed to study the refolding process. Several factors, including concentration of ammonium sulfate, pH of the mobile phase and flow rate, were investigated in details. The results indicated that the rhG-CSF produced by E. coli could be successfully refolded with simultaneous purification by using HPHIC. The refolding process was further scaled up by using a large column (50 mm x 200 mm I.D.). 200 mL of rhG-CSF solution solubilized by 8.0 mol L-1 urea, with a total amount of protein around 1.6g, could be loaded onto the large column at one time. Under these conditions, the obtained rhG-CSF had a specific activity of 2.3 x 10(8) IU mg(-1) and a purity of 95.4%, the mass recovery during the purification was 36.9%. This work might have great impact on practical production of rhG-CSF, and it also shed a light on protein refolding using liquid chromatography at large scales. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.