Agents interfering with TNFa action such as Infliximab or Etanercept are successfully used in inflammatory joint diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis in humans. Here, we aimed to quantify the effects of these substances in a model of antigen- induced arthritis (AIA) in the knee joints of rats on pain-related and motor behaviour as well as on joint swelling and destruction. Therefore, thresholds for noxious thermal and mechanical stimuli were obtained from treated (starting at 6 h after inflammation) and untreated animals (n=10 for each group). Furthermore, paw print patterns during walking were assessed. In order to correlate behavioural changes to local inflammation in the knee, histological analysis was performed on days 3 and 21. Overall, both substances did not seem to affect pain-related behaviour in acute inflammation (day 1), but attenuated it starting with the early chronic phase (day 3). Especially thresholds of mechanical pressure on the knee as well as scores indicating pain-related motor alterations normalized to control levels significantly faster. Histological examination of knee joints on days 3 and 21 did not reveal significant differences between treated and untreated animals, suggesting a mechanism of anti-TNF agents in nociceptive processing rather than in the primary inflammatory pathways in this model.