The response of plants to elevated CO2 is dependent on the availability of nutrients, especially nitrogen. It is generally accepted that an increase in the atmospheric CO2 concentration increases the C:N ratio of plant residues and exudates. This promotes temporary N-immobilization which might, in turn, reduce the availability of soil nitrogen. In addition, both a CO2 stimulated increase in plant growth (thus requiring more nitrogen) and an increased N demand for the decomposition of soil residues with a large C:N will result under elevated CO2 in a larger N-sink of the whole grassland ecosystem. One way to maintain the balance between the C and N cycles in elevated CO2 would be to increase N-import to the grassland ecosystem through symbiotic N2 fixation. Whether this might happen in the context of temperate ecosystems is discussed, by assessing the following hypothesis: i) symbiotic N2 fixation in legumes will be enhanced under elevated CO2, ii) this enhancement of N2 fixation will result in a larger N-input to the grassland ecosystem, and iii) a larger N-input will allow the sequestration of additional carbon, either above or below-ground, into the ecosystem. Data from long-term experiments with model grassland ecosystems, consisting of monocultures or mixtures of perennial ryegrass and white clover, grown under elevated CO2 under free-air or field-like conditions, supports the first two hypothesis, since: i) both the percentage and the amount of fixed N increases in white clover grown under elevated CO2, ii) the contribution of fixed N to the nitrogen nutrition of the mixed grass also increases in elevated CO2. Concerning the third hypothesis, an increased nitrogen input to the grassland ecosystem from N2 fixation usually promotes shoot growth (above-ground C storage) in elevated CO2. However, the consequences of this larger N input under elevated CO2 on the below-ground carbon fluxes are not fully understood. On one hand, the positive effect of elevated CO2 on the quantity of plant residues might be overwhelming and lead to an increased long-term below-ground C storage; on the other hand, the enhancement of the decomposition process by the N-rich legume material might favour carbon turn-over and, hence, limit the storage of below-ground carbon.