Aliskiren is a direct renin inhibitor that has been shown to reduce proteinuria and retard renal deterioration in type 2 diabetic patients with overt nephropathy. However, it is not known if these therapeutic effects can be extended to nondiabetic chronic renal disease. The current study aims to explore this research question by randomly assigning patients with various stages of chronic renal disease to receive either aliskiren on top of losartan, or continuation of losartan.