Abstract: The present invention provides kits and methods for the diagnosis, prognosis and prediction of sepsis in a subject or for the differentiation between sepsis and SIRS in a subject, the method comprising(a) measuring the level of pro-hepcidin (pro-HEPC) in a biological sample taken from said subject, (b) measuring the level of at least one further biomarker selected from the group consisting of soluble TNF-receptor 2 (sTNFR2), Pentraxin-3 (PTX-3), Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor (MCSF), pro-Brain Natriuretic Protein (pro-BNP), one or more members of the Histone protein family, Procalcitonin (PCT) and c-Reactive Protein (CRP) in a biological sample from said subject, (c) using said measurements obtained in steps (a) and (b) to create a profile for said biomarkers and (d) comparing said profile with a reference biomarker profile obtained form a patient having SIRS or from a healthy subject.