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Summary: Vitamin D is hypothesized to suppress inflammation. We tested total and free vitamin D metabolites and their association with inflammatory markers. Interleukin-6 levels were lower with higher 25-hydroxyvitamin D. 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D and free 25OHD associations mirrored those of 25OHD. However, associations for the two metabolites diverged for tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) soluble receptors. Introduction: Vitamin D is hypothesized to suppress inflammation, and circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) and inflammatory markers are inversely correlated. However, total serum 25OHD may not be the best indicator of biologically active vitamin D. Methods: We tested serum total 25OHD, total 1,25(OH)D, vitamin D binding protein (DBP), and estimated free 25OHD and free 1,25(OH)D associations with inflammatory markers serum interleukin-6 (IL-6), TNF-α and their soluble receptors, interleukin-10 (IL-10), and C-reactive protein (CRP) as continuous outcomes and the presence of ≥2 inflammatory markers in the highest quartile as a dichotomous outcome, in a random subcohort of 679 men in the Osteoporotic Fractures in Men (MrOS) study. Results: IL-6 was lower in men with higher 25OHD (−0.23 μg/mL per standard deviation (SD) increase in 25OHD, 95 % confidence intervals (CI) −0.07 to −0.38 μg/mL) and with higher 1,25(OH)D (−0.20 μg/mL, 95 % CI −0.0004 to −0.39 μg/mL); free D associations were slightly stronger. 25OHD and DBP, but not 1,25(OH)D, were independently associated with IL-6. TNF-α soluble receptors were inversely associated with 1,25(OH)D but positively associated with 25OHD, and each had independent effects. The strongest association with ≥2 inflammatory markers in the highest quartile was for free 1,25(OH)D (odds ratios (OR) 0.70, 95 % CI 0.54 to 0.89 per SD increase in free 1,25(OH)D). Conclusions: Associations of 1,25(OH)D and free 25OHD with IL-6 mirrored those of 25OHD, suggesting that 1,25(OH)D and free D do not improve upon 25OHD in population-based IL-6 studies. However, associations for the two metabolites diverged for TNF-α soluble receptor, warranting examination of both metabolites in studies of TNF-α and its antagonists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]