AimTo investigate the risk factors of leukoaraiosis (LA) in hospitalized patients.MethodsBetween January 2010 to June 2010 in our hospital 509 patients diagnosed by brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as leukoaraiosis were the case group, and 509 cases with no-leukoaraiosis were the control group during the corresponding period.The risk factors of the two groups were inquired according to case-control study design.A database was used and statistical analysis was undergone by SPSS 12.0.ResultsThe unconditional multiple Logistic regression analysis showed that：female ［OR and 95% CI:7.857 (5.139-12.011)］，old age，drink，hypertension in diastolic pressure，cerebral infarction ［OR and 95% CI: 5.591 (3.660-8.541)］，metabolic syndrome were independent risk factors of leukoaraiosis, significantly increasing the risk of leukoaraiosis (all p<0.05).But in these patients, the risk of leukoaraiosis ［OR and 95% CI: 0.699 (0.599-0.815)］ was decreased in patients with increased total cholesterol.ConclusionThe causes of hospitalized patients with leukoaraiosis are various, as a result, early intervention should be aimed at different risk factors to prevent the occurrence of leukoaraiosis.