Ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn’s disease (CD) are the representative disorders of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). UC normally involves a continuous area from the rectum to the colon while CD may affect any part of the gastrointestinal tract from the mouth to the anus. Mild forms of IBD are usually successfully treated with aminosalicylates (Pentasa®) for maintenance of remission and with corticosteroids for flares. Management of moderate and severe forms of IBD is far from being fully satisfactory, especially for the many cases of steroid dependency, steroid resistance, and steroid intolerance. A large number of different therapeutic approaches have been tried in the last decade. Among them, apheresis for removal of leukocytes from peripheral blood by using extracorporeal circulation has been proposed as a feasible, safe, and effective therapy for IBD. Recently, the use of various biologic agents has become more widespread, leading to a decrease in the frequency of use. However, blood cell component removal therapy can still be effective in some cases, and its significance remains.