BACKGROUND There is enough literature data - case reports and case series - regarding the association between nephrotic syndrome (NS) and different neoplasia, but only a few of these data address the specific link between NS and Hodgkin lymphoma. It has been demonstrated that intrinsic renal lesions - glomerular injury - can be found as a complication in these malignancies. METHODS This report presents the case of a 9 year-old child in whom the diagnosis of NS was established two months before the diagnosis of Hodgkin lymphoma. Once chemotherapy was initiated, proteinuria and the clinical manifestations of NS, mainly oedema, disappeared. CONCLUSIONS Considering that the NS can be a paraneoplastic manifestation of Hodgkin lymphoma, the careful clinical evaluation becomes mandatory in any child with NS and persistent proteinuria despite appropriate treatment protocol. The prognosis of these patients is good, the treatment of Hodgkin disease causing the disappearance of proteinuria.