In conclusion, our study showed that the use of heat‐shock protein N‐terminal domain of GP96 as an adjuvant could efficiently enhance the immunogenicity of MCMV gB DNA vaccine and mucosal resident memory CD8 T‐cell immune responses elicited by gB/GP96‐NT co‐immunization offered a long‐term protection against MCMV pneumonitis. Here, CD8A is linked to pneumonitis.