This introduction to the special issue places emotions at the centre of class analysis and shows how feelings are conditioned by social hierarchies and, in turn, contribute to their reproduction or transformation. It provides a concise overview of sociological research at the intersection of emotions, class and inequality, and traces two central strands of research: one that examines emotions arising from experiences of class and inequality, and another that investigates the ways emotions shape hierarchies, distinctions and social mobility. The introduction then shows how the contributions to the special issue are more closely aligned with the second line of research. By discussing the social function of emotions and their material consequences, the introduction lays the conceptual foundation for the special issue: an investigation of how affects and emotions function within and between class structures to stabilise, reinforce or challenge existing inequalities.