Kidney tubular damage caused by ischemia-reperfusion injury is considered the major cause of delayed graft function (DGF) after renal transplantation. It is not clear whether early generated de novo donor specific antibodies (DSA) play a role in DGF. Here, we report 2 cases of renal transplant with DGF, which seems to be associated with de novo DSA. When the early produced de novo DSA are not potent enough to mediate acute rejection, they may cause mild intra-graft injury, which has a significant impact on the degree of DGF and its recovery. Antibody-targeted therapy seems to be beneficial to the recovery of patients with DGF.