Aim Comparison of plasma lipids levels of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) patients and control subjects. Methods plasma lipid and lipoprotein levels are reported. Results Compared with control, a marked reduction was observed in SARS group for total cholesterol (TC), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLC), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLC), apolipoprotein A_Ⅰ(apo A_Ⅰ) and apolipoprotein B (apo B) but not for triglyceride (TG) and lipoprotein a [Lp(a)]. Among the seven markers, reductions of HDLC and apo A_Ⅰ were highly significant. HDLC in SARS individual is equal to 50% of that in control, and apo A_Ⅰ 58.9%. Both LDLC and apo B reduced moderately by 35% and 30% each. However, there were no obvious differences in Lp(a) between two groups that suggested that is level might not been affected by the coronavirus. Continuous measurements were provided to several patients to monitor the dynamic variation of lipids and lipoproteins in plasma. The major components of plasma lipoprotein were lower than normal before treatment. While after a therapeutic alliance of traditional Chinese medicine and western medicine, lipoprotein levels of TC, HDLC, LDLC, apo A_Ⅰ and apo B have increased significantly. Conclusions The rise of the five major serum lipids measurements may predict that the patients will be restored to health gradually.