A unifying feature of many neurodegenerative disorders is the accumulation of polyubiquitinated protein inclusions in dystrophic neurons, e.g. containing ␣-synuclein, which is suggestive of an insufficient proteasomal activity. We demonstrate that ␣-synuclein and 20 S proteasome components co-localize in Lewy bodies and show that subunits from 20 S proteasome particles, in contrast to subunits of the 19 S regulatory complex, bind efficiently to aggregated filamentous but not monomeric ␣-synuclein. Proteasome binding to insoluble ␣-synuclein filaments and soluble ␣-synuclein oligomers results in marked inhibition of its chymotrypsin-like hydrolytic activity through a non-competitive mechanism that is mimicked by model amyloid-A peptide aggregates. Endogenous ligands of aggregated ␣-synuclein like heat shock protein 70 and glyceraldehyde-6-phosphate dehydrogenase bind filaments and inhibit their anti-proteasomal activity. The inhibitory effect of amyloid aggregates may thus be amenable to modulation by endogenous chaperones and possibly accessible for therapeutic intervention.