Blood Test

Albumin Blood Test

Name: Albumin Blood Test: Normal Range & Low Levels | HealthReview
Creator: Suman Konda
Published: 2026-07-05

Albumin is the most abundant protein in your blood, made by the liver. Low albumin is a powerful indicator of liver disease, kidney disease, malnutrition or severe chronic illness.

Written and clinically reviewed by Suman Konda, PharmD, Clinical Pharmacist · Based on peer-reviewed sources · Editorial policy · Not medical advice

Last reviewed and updated: 01 August 2026 · How we check our content

What is albumin?

Albumin is a protein produced exclusively by the liver and accounts for about 60% of total plasma protein. It performs several vital functions: maintaining oncotic pressure (keeping fluid inside blood vessels), transporting hormones, drugs, fatty acids, bilirubin and ions through the blood, and acting as an antioxidant and buffer. Albumin has a half-life of about 20 days, making it a useful marker of nutritional and liver status over weeks, not days. It is measured as part of a liver function test (LFT) panel and in kidney (nephrotic syndrome) workup.

Albumin normal range

Category	Range (g/dL or g/L)	Interpretation
Normal (adults)	3.5 – 5.0 g/dL (35 – 50 g/L)	Normal
Mildly low	3.0 – 3.4 g/dL	Mild hypoalbuminaemia
Moderately low	2.5 – 2.9 g/dL	Moderate
Severely low	< 2.5 g/dL	Severe: clinically significant

What does LOW albumin mean?

Low Albumin: Hypoalbuminaemia

Low albumin is called hypoalbuminaemia. It almost always indicates one or more of the following: (1) Liver disease (cirrhosis, hepatitis), the liver cannot make enough albumin; albumin is a sensitive indicator of liver synthetic function, and a falling albumin in liver disease indicates deterioration. (2) Nephrotic syndrome, the kidneys are losing protein into the urine, causing low blood albumin and oedema. (3) Malnutrition or malabsorption, insufficient amino acid intake or absorption to synthesise albumin. (4) Severe acute illness, sepsis or major burns, albumin moves out of the bloodstream into inflamed tissues (capillary leak) and production falls. (5) Protein-losing enteropathy, GI conditions (Crohn disease, lymphoma) causing protein loss through the gut.

Why does low albumin cause swelling?

Albumin is the main protein maintaining oncotic pressure (the force that keeps fluid inside blood vessels). When albumin falls below about 2.5 g/dL, oncotic pressure drops and fluid leaks from the bloodstream into surrounding tissues, causing oedema (swelling in the legs, ankles, abdomen and around the eyes). This is pitting oedema and is one of the key physical findings in hypoalbuminaemia from any cause.

High albumin: what it means

High albumin (hyperalbuminaemia) is almost always due to dehydration, which concentrates the blood. It is treated by ensuring adequate fluid intake.

Questions to ask your doctor

Is my low albumin from liver, kidney or nutritional causes?
Should I have a urine protein test to check for nephrotic syndrome?
Does this affect drug dosing (some drugs are albumin-bound)?
Am I getting adequate protein in my diet?
What is my liver's overall synthetic function?

Frequently asked questions

Why does my lab's Albumin range differ from the one shown here?

Every laboratory sets its own reference interval from the analyser, reagents and reference population it uses, so two labs can publish different Albumin intervals and both be correct, even reporting in the same g/dL. Read your result against the range printed on your own report.

Should a borderline Albumin result be repeated?

Usually. A value just outside the interval is common in people who are entirely well, since about one in twenty healthy results falls outside any 95% reference range by construction. A borderline Albumin is normally rechecked rather than acted on.

Does the trend matter more than one Albumin reading?

For long-term monitoring it generally does. A figure that has drifted across several tests says more than a single measurement, and a stable result sitting slightly outside the range is often simply that person's baseline.

References

The clinical information on this page is drawn from peer-reviewed sources indexed by the US National Library of Medicine. Links go to the source so you can read it yourself.

Liver Function Tests. In: StatPearls. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing. NCBI Bookshelf NBK482489