Luiz Adriano was transferred to Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk on 2 March 2007 for a reported €3 million transfer fee (R$8,128,830). On 19 March 2007, he made his debut in the Ukrainian Premier League against city rivals Metalurh Donetsk, at the age of 19 years 11 months and 7 days. It took almost one year, however, for Luiz Adriano to score his first goal for the club, netting in the 94th minute of a 4–1 win over Metalist Kharkiv on 15 March 2008.