In many cases, chronic inflammatory dermatoses are accompanied by changes of the nails or periungual region. Sometimes nail changes occur even before the onset of the particular skin disease. In some cases, specific lesions of the nails and the perionychium can contribute to the diagnosis. This review describes the most common nail and periungual changes in chronic inflammatory dermatoses and the corresponding treatment options. Among others, this review deals with nail changes in collagenoses, autoimmune bullous dermatoses, alopecia areata, lichen planus and atopic eczema. Nail psoriasis is not discussed here, as this special edition contains a review devoted entirely to the complex topic of nail psoriasis.