Cytomegaloviruses (CMVs) are herpesviruses that can cause life‐threatening diseases in immunocompromised patients. During the early phase of the infection CMVs cause massive reorganization of the cellular membranes that finally results in formation of a cytoplasmic virion assembly compartment (cVAC) and impaired trafficking of many proteins, including molecules that modulate immune response. Arf proteins are small GTPases that organize cellular cytoskeleton and control membrane dynamics, thus regulating traffic within secretory and endocytic system. The aim of this study was to determine expression and intracellular localisation of Arf proteins in the early phase of CMV infection and to define how these changes reflect to endocytosis and recycling of MHC‐I molecules. Murine embryonic fibroblasts (Balb/3T3) were infected with recombinant murine cytomegalovirus Δm138‐ MCMV and expression of Arfs was determined by confocal microscopy and WB. Arfs intracellular localisation was determined by co‐localization with different markers of intracellular compartments. Kinetics of MHC‐I endocytosis and recycling was determined by flow cytometry on uninfected and MCMV infected cells in which Arfs were normally expressed or silenced by siRNA. Arf proteins are overexpressed and/or overactivated during the early phase of MCMV infection and are accumulated in the juxtanuclear region in the area of cVAC formation. This leads to impaired endosomal trafficking of many proteins, including MHC‐I molecules. Overexpression/overactivation of Arfs, especially Arf6, may represent the earliest alteration which leads to the reorganization of the endosomal recycling system and downregulation of MHC‐I molecules during the CMV infection. Better understanding of these processes could result in development of new antiviral treatments.