Interleukin (IL)‐6 is a pleiotropic cytokine involved in the differentiation and proliferation of hematopoietic cells. Hepatocytes respond to IL‐6 with the synthesis and secretion of acute‐phase proteins. In addition, IL‐6 plays a role as a migration factor in vivo. In the present paper, we studied the potential of IL‐6 to mediate migration of human primary T cells and T cell‐derived cell lines. IL‐6 was found to induce migration only in the presence of extracellular matrix, suggesting a cross‐talk between the IL‐6‐ and integrin signal transduction pathways. Furthermore, an IL‐6 gradient is required for chemotactic migration. This activity is not due to the release of secondary chemotactic activities, but is a direct response to IL‐6. T cell migration could also be observed in response to IL‐11, but no migration was found after stimulation with leukemia inhibitory factor or oncostatin M, although these cytokines signal through gp130‐containing receptor complexes. Finally, we present evidence that activation of the mitogen‐activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascade, the phosphatidylinositol 3‐kinase as well as the Janus kinase/signal transducer and activator of transcription (JAK/STAT) pathway is crucial for IL‐6‐induced migration. Selective activation of the JAK/STAT or the MAPK cascade by mutated receptor proteins shows a crucial role of IL‐6‐initiated SH2 domain‐containing tyrosine phosphatase 2/MAPK activity for migration.