Aim To evaluate the association of the central retinal arteriolar equivalent （CRAE） that reflects microcirculation, with brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity （baPWV） that reflects aortic stiffness.Methods In this cross-sectional study, we identified the cardiovascular risk factors in 2169 subjects with an age of 30+ years using a health questionnaire, physical examinations and laboratory examinations. We evaluated the aortic stiffness using non-invasive baPWV and assessed the microcirculatory alterations with CRAE, which were measured using fundus photography and semi-automatic quantitative software, respectively.Results The baPWV gradually increased with the increase in mean age, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, arterial blood pressure, pulse pressure, BMI, LDLC. The baPWVs in the diabetic and hypertensive subjects were higher than those in the non-diabetic or non-hypertensive subjects. The increase in baPWV was correlated with an increased likelihood of the central retinal artery narrowing.Conclusions Elevated baPWV correlates with reduced CRAE. Such a finding supports macrocirculation- and microcirculation-associated hypotheses.