Acute kidney injury (AKI) is common and increasing in hospitalized patients. The earlier recognition of renal injury, at a stage described as 'incipient AKI', may allow renoprotective strategies to be initiated at a time when more kidney tissue is salvageable. 'Incipient AKI' represents renal injury as manifested by new-onset proteinuria, cellular activity on urine microscopy, or elevated novel biomarkers of kidney injury in the absence of clinical data that meet current diagnostic criteria for AKI. We propose three strategies to preserve kidney function and minimize further kidney injury in patients with 'incipient AKI'. These include--when appropriate for the prevailing cause of 'incipient AKI'--use of low-chloride-containing intravenous solutions, continued use of renin-angiotensin system antagonists, and use of diuretics to achieve adequate control of intravascular volume. The combined approach of the early diagnosis of AKI and early employment of feasible therapeutic strategies may slow the growth of clinical AKI, AKI requiring renal replacement therapy and chronic kidney disease, and might reduce AKI-associated mortality.