Aim To study the relationship between the levels of cholesteryl ester transfer protein （CETP） and the contents of plasma high density lipoprotein （HDL） subclasses in patients with coronary heart disease （CHD）. Methods The contents of plasma HDL subclasses in healthy controls （n116） and the CHD subjects （n87） were determined by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis associated with immunodetection method. The levels of CETP were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA） kits. According to the plasma CETP levels, the CHD subjects were divided into three layers amount ［low CETP group （CETP≤0.69 mg/L）, middle CETP group （0.69＜CETP<1.59 mg/L）, high CETP group （CETP≥1.59 mg/L）］. Results With the increase of CETP concentration, the contents of total cholesterol, triglyceride, low density lipoprotein cholesterol were increased significantly, while that of high density lipoprotein cholesterol, ApoA1 and ApoA1/B100 were decreased significantly. Compared with the low CETP group, preβ₁-HDL and HDL_3c were significantly increased, but HDL_2b was significantly decreased in middle CETP group and high CETP group （P<0.05 or P<0.001）. The plasma CETP was positively correlated with the contents of preβ₁-HDL and negatively correlated with the contents of HDL_2b. Conclusions With elevated plasma CETP levels, the particle size of HDL in CHD subjects showed a shift toward smaller size, CETP may hinder mature metabolism of HDL.