The pathogenic roles of B cells in autoimmune diseases occur through several mechanistic pathways that include autoantibodies, immune complexes, dendritic and T cell activation, cytokine synthesis, chemokine-mediated functions, and ectopic neolymphogenesis. Each of these pathways participate to different degrees in autoimmune diseases. The use of B cell-targeted and B cell subset-targeted therapies in humans is illuminating the mechanisms at work in a variety of human autoimmune diseases. In this review, we highlight some of these recent findings that provide insights into both murine models of autoimmunity and human autoimmune diseases.