Aim To explore the effect of stromal cell-derived factor-1α (SDF-1α) on rat vascular smooth muscle cells(VSMC)/monocytes adhesion. Methods VSMC was incubated with different concentrations of oxidized low density lipoprotein (ox-LDL), SDF-1α mRNA and protein expression were revealed by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Western blotting. VSMC pretreated with 50 mg/L ox-LDL for 48 h were incubated with monocytes and SDF-1α antibody to observe cells adhesion. Results Compared with control, SDF-1α was upregulated to 5 times, VSMC supported 29 times higher arrest of monocytes, but this effect was obviously inhibited by the antibody to SDF-1α. Conclusion SDF-1α was implicated in VSMC/monocytes adhesion.