Lupus nephritis (LN) can be observed in up to 70% of SLE patients and is often associated with a poor long-term prognosis. Artesunate, one analogues of antimalarial agent artemisinin, have immunomodulatory properties that might be useful for treating autoimmune diseases including SLE. it is still lack of solid evidence from RCT to evaluate efficacy and safety of artesunate plus standard of care in active LN. Regarding no data could be referred to decide the sample size and optimal dosage, we designed this pilot study. The result and experience of pilot study will answer these questions, and guarantee the multicenter RCT to be conducted successfully.