The process of normal aging affects organ homeostasis as well as responses to acute and chronic injury. In view of the rapid growth in the elderly population, it is increasingly important for us to develop a mechanistic understanding of how these age-dependent changes can impact the susceptibility and response of the kidney to injurious stimuli. In this overview we focus on the current understanding of those mechanisms by reviewing how cellular changes in the aging kidney might lead to a diminished proliferative reserve, an increased tendency for apoptosis, alterations in growth factor profiles, and changes in potential progenitor and immune cell functions. A better understanding of these processes may help us to define new targets for studying kidney repair and could ultimately lead to new therapeutic strategies that are specifically tailored for treatment of the elderly population.