AimTo investigate the relationship between levels of serum cystatin C (CysC) and carotid athrosclerosis in patients with acute cerebral infarction.MethodsNinety-eight acute cerebral infarction patients treated in our hospital from July 2010 to March 2012 were investigated.All of them were divided into carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) ≥0.9 mm group with 50 patients, and IMT ＜0.9 mm group with 48 patients, by carotid ultrasonography.Levels of serum CysC and related clinical data were measured.ResultsThe levels of serum CysC in the IMT≥0.9 mm group was significantly higher than those in the IMT ＜0.9 mm group (0.95±0.24 mg/L vs 0.76±0.15 mg/L,P<0.01).CysC had obvious negative correlation with serum HDLC (P<0.01), while postive correlation with age, body mass index (BMI), systolic blood pressure (SBP), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLC) and IMT (P<0.01)．Multinmial regression analysis confirmed that CysC, SBP and LDLC were independent factors correlated with carotid IMT.ConclusionsCysC has associations with carotid atherosclerosis in patients with acute cerebral infarction.CysC could probably be an independent factor correlated with the carotid IMT.