Aim To explore the relationship of plasma chemerin level and the expression of chemerin and chemerin receptor mRNA with inflammation in rats with atherosclerosis. Methods 82 male Wistar rats were randomly divided into 3 groups: control group, high-fat group and simvastatin treatment group. The rats were fed for fourteen weeks. Cardiac blood samples and aorta samples were taken from the rats. The thoracic aorta and abdominal aorta were prepared for HE staining and RT-PCR. The plasma levels of chemerin,hs-CRP,IL-6 and TNF-β were measured by ELISA. Chemerin and chemerin receptor mRNA expression levels were determined by RT-PCR. Results There were significant differences among three rat groups on the plasma levels of chemerin,hs-CRP,IL-6 and TNF-β, which showed high-fat group > simvastatin treatment group > control group（P<0.05）； Plasma chemerin levels of control group, high-fat group and simvastatin treatment group were positively correlated with hs-CRP（r0.664，0.804 and 0.709，P<0.05）. There were significant difference among three rat groups on chemerin and chemerin receptor mRNA expression levels, which showed high-fat group>simvastatin treatment group>control group（P<0.05）. Chemerin and chemerin receptor mRNA expression levels of high-fat group and simvastatin treatment group were positively correlated with hs-CRP，IL-6 and TNF-β（P<0.05）. Conclusion The plasma chemerin level and expression of the chemerin and chemerin receptor mRNA in rats with atherosclerosis were significantly correlated with inflammation. It implies that the pathway of chemerin-chemerin receptor may play pivotal roles in the pathogenesis and development of atherosclerosis through systemic inflammation.