In this study we provide evidence that the chemokine stromal cell‐derived factor‐1α (SDF‐1α) acts as a mast cell chemoattractant through interactions with its receptor CXCR4 expressed on mast cell progenitors in the blood as well as on in vitro‐developed and leukemic mast cells. We found expression of CXCR4 on cord blood‐derived mast cells (CBMC) and on the human mast cell line HMC‐1, analyzed by RNAse protection assay and flow cytometry. SDF‐1α induced intracellular calcium mobilization in HMC‐1 cells and was chemotactic for both HMC‐1 cells and CBMC. The activity of SDF‐1α was completely blocked by treating the cells with pertussis toxin, indicating the involvement of G_i‐proteins in the signaling. By applying a transwell assay we could show that SDF‐1α induces migration of a cell population in peripheral blood that is enriched for cells with the capacity to differentiate into mast cells. These findings thus suggest a mechanism by which human mast cell progenitors may be recruited from circulation into the tissue.