Steroid receptor coactivator-3 (SRC-3) is a transcriptional coactivator for nuclear receptors and other transcription factors. Although multiple physiological roles of SRC-3 have been revealed, its involvement in the inflammatory process remains unclear. Herein we show that SRC-3^−/− mice are markedly hypersensitive to LPS-induced endotoxic shock. In response to LPS, SRC-3^−/− macrophages produce significantly more proinflammatory cytokines such as TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-1β than wild-type controls, although they express similar amounts of cytokine mRNAs, suggesting that SRC-3 can exert effects at translational levels. Increased heavy polysome-associated TNF-α and IL-1β mRNAs in SRC-3^−/− macrophages implicate SRC-3 as a translational repressor. SRC-3 may cooperate with other translational repressors such as TIA-1 and TIAR to regulate cytokine mRNA translation. Collectively, our studies reveal an essential function of SRC-3 as a coordinator of inflammatory mRNA translation and as a physiologic protective factor against the lethal endotoxic shock triggered by an acute inflammatory response.